Peter O’Toole. A legend in British and indeed world cinema. An icon; star of stage and screen. And until recently, a national treasure. So I respectfully accepted an opportunity to review his final ever performance in Decline of an Empire.
I made a huge mistake.
THE MOVIE
Decline of an Empire is probably more accurately known by its title Katherine of Alexandria, under which it was marketed in overseas territories. Rather than looking specifically at the infighting of the Roman Emperors it focuses more on the legend of (Saint) Katherine, a Christian who was condemned, tortured and executed by the Romans during a time of fragmentation and encroaching civil war in the Empire. The film charts her journey from a young girl, indoctrinated into servitude to a powerful Roman family, to her eventual rise as a religious figure against the backdrop of political scheming in the Senate. She is educated in their ways and religion but becomes aware of how powerful and cruel the Empire has become. Confident in her faith she denounces the enforced Pagan religion and stands trial for her crimes, dividing sentiment amongst the public.
It is an interesting subject to tackle and a novel take on an era that usually is explored through political maneuvering and war or sandals and sand gladiator epics. However, this effort has the feel of a DTV miniseries… and that is being kind. The Roman era is one of the most showcased in cinematic and tv history, so it isn’t hard to dig up a few legionnaires uniforms. But here you’ll find laughable production design, as if they filmed at a villa in Spain and stuck up a few pillars and clothed people in togas. The action promised on the cover and teased in the trailer is entirely absent. Instead it lurches from one exchange of monotonous dialogue between characters to another. Unfathomably dull scripting delivered by actors with their cadence being hammered out of them, either whispering their lines or just shouting them out. The entire thing reeks of an amateur theater production.
Amateur? No, here we have some fine, well regarded actors in addition to the aforementioned O’Toole. Edward Fox (Gandhi, The Day of the Jackal), Joss Ackland (Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, Prisoners of the Sun, Lethal Weapon 2), Steven Berkoff (Beverly Hills Cop, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Clockwork Orange) all fail to elevate the material. Taking the lead as Katherine, a figure akin to Joan of Arc is newcomer Nicole Keniheart. Her performance and obscure accent are utterly woeful. What I presume is an attempt at mysterious and prophetic comes across as mildly handicapped. As to O’Toole, I am both saddened and angry that this was his farewell performance. He delivers one soliloquy that shows the class he is known for but spends most of the film looking shocked at what is unraveling around him. He isn’t the only one, closeups of consternated faces follow scenes of hammy overacting and stilted dialogue. The cast are shown to be as disbelieving of the quality of this production as I. A truly arduous viewing experience.
THE PACKAGEThe DVD comes with a Digital Copy, short featurette and trailer gallery. The picture quality is as drab as the plot itself. That said, there are no special features or fancy packaging that could make me recommend purchasing this.
Probably the worst film I have seen in years. An exercise in how to make a movie devoid of any excitement, intrigue or interest and purge talented actors of anything resembling a good performance. Avoid at all costs.
True story: I slipped in Lawrence of Arabia after watching this to purge myself of such a woeful cinematic experience.
Decline of an Empire is released on Home Video, August 12th 2014.
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