All hail Cleopatra!

Ruwini Jayawardana

Joseph L. Mankiewicz' 1963 historical drama is a colossal eye-filler. So many incidents take place in one movie, yet the tragedy is that despite its historical value, 'Cleopatra' does not manage to keep the audience immersed.

The story opens with Julius Caesar's arriving in Egypt to help resolve the differences between Cleopatra and her brother, young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Eventually Cleopatra and Caesar begin an affair which sets Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt. Even then her ambition has no boundaries. For her the alliance with Caesar is a matter of setting sights on the Roman Empire by means of a son born to Caesar.

Though she is warmly welcomed in Rome, her presence stimulates the senators to plot and carry out Caesar's murder. Realizing that Rome holds no future for her she flees back to Egypt. Meanwhile one of Caesar's strongest supporters, Marc Anthony forms a political alliance with Caesar's nephew, Octavian. Anthony and Cleopatra fall deeply in love. Their union acts as a catalyst for war and brings death and destruction.

The movie's little success mostly rests on the shoulders of Elizabeth Taylor. She not only adds a fiery sense to the famed Egyptian queen but also generates interest through her own fame and controversies, flaunting her skin and curves from the minute she appears on screen. However her character development falls apart after she attains the throne and manages to seduce Caesar and Anthony. The images of these two men, portrayed by Rex Harrison and Richard Burton, seem to collapse before our eyes overshadowed by the larger-than-life portrait of Cleopatra. Things have gone so far as to highlight her role that we see her change of costumes and hairdos in the story in the light of a fashion parade than in a realistic angle.

This harms the story to a great extent because history dubs Caesar and Anthony as heroes rather than lovelorn slaves. True, both men were captured by Cleopatra's beauty but they have also set their mark as champions in war and masters in strategies. The director had failed to work on that aspect properly since he had been engrossed in underlining Cleopatra's character. Yet though she outshines everyone in the movie, we see that there is noting much to admire in her except her unflawed good looks. Mankiewicz and Taylor have failed in generating admiration or empathy for the legendary queen since we see her as a power hungry tyrant sans the capabilities to defend her own nation against Octavian.

Apart from the romances the movie also deals with politics. You get battles, murders, killings, conspiracy, assassination attempts and betrayals of trust scattered throughout the reels.

One of the high points of the movie is Cleopatra's entrance to Rome. Her entourage of dancers is completely awe-inspiring in its vision and scale. The battle scenes too go down well for they hold a certain magnificence and energy. It is no wonder that the picture won the Oscars for cinematography, sets and special effects.

Had it not been for Taylor's presence the movie would have simply been ignored. However even she could not add life to the bland, listless and unmoving soap opera which seems to drag on forever in this 248 minute production.