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Troy Script Review
Today marks the return of our Pulitzer prize nominated friend,
Fred. For today he
has written an interesting take on Wolfang Petersen's Summer 2004
opus Troy.
I never thought we would be reviewing screenplays for big blockbusters
two years
before they come out. How can we EVER top that? Oh wait, I know...
Troy Script Review
TROY
Screenplay by David Benioff
Based on the epic by Homer
(early, undated draft)
Reviewed by Frederick J. Chiaventone
"Ah, where does this stuff come from? Hey, I for one will
not complain as it’s a
nice break from academic tomes and a very nice break from the
abysmal stuff
which makes it to some of the studios. It’s interesting that
this work, an early
draft by David Benioff, comes on the heels (not the Achilles Heel)
of the
adaptation of Stephen Pressfield’s marvelous work on the
Pass at Thermopylae,
Gates of Fire. (Not to worry, a review of that script will be
printed here in an
upcoming column.) It’s further interesting that this work
parallels Homer’s
original in that it is constructed to appeal to a contemporary
audience. The
viewer (well, in this case the reader) is pulled right in to the
action and, while
there were some anachronisms which lend themselves more readily
to 21st
Century sensibilities, they are surprisingly inoffensive. This
is of the type
where the reader says; 'Hey, that’s a modern conceit in this
case but what
the hell, it’s a good story so I’ll let it go.'
Before we get into the screenplay we should
touch on a couple of interesting
points. First of all, the Trojan War (variously dated as having
happened around
1184 BC and even that date is uncertain at best) is pretty much
the beginning
of a sense of Greek nationality. Except for the writings of the
poet Homer we
don’t have a lot of detailed information about the struggle,
the reasons for
the war, the individuals involved and so forth. The first indications
that Troy
was a real city reduced by siege came in the late 1800’s
when German amateur
archeologist Heinrich Schliemann tramped around what he determined
were the
ancient city’s ruins. Further archeology has been done on
the site and, in fact,
at the University of Tuebingen (south of Stuttgart) a major controversy
has
recently erupted between the findings of the Department of Archeology
and
the stalwarts in the Department of History regarding the size
and nature of
the city of Troy (nothing like a little academic infighting to
get things roiled up,
eh?). Suffice it to say at the outset that little is known of
the actual struggle
beyond that which was voiced by Homer about 300 years after the
events, so
whether the siege lasted 10 years (as Homer suggests) or significantly
less
is anyone’s guess. What this means is that the contemporary
writer has
considerable leeway in how he presents the story.
This version opens with Hector and Paris,
both Trojan princes, being hosted
by Spartan King Menelaus, having just sealed a treaty which will
allow free
trade between the former enemies. A large, celebratory banquet
is underway
during which the Trojan pretty boy Paris keeps stealing furtive
glances at
Menelaus’ beautiful wife Helen. Hector observes Paris’
interest but says nothing.
Later that night Paris confronts Helen and asks her to run off
with him. It’s not
until after the Trojan delegation is well out to sea that Paris
reveals to his brother
that he has convinced Helen to run off with him. Hector is not
pleased by this
development and sees the Paris-Helen match as an infatuation which
will bring
ruin to both of their nations. But blood is thicker than water
and Hector, while not
condoning Paris’ action, accepts it and the likely consequences.
Far behind them their former host, Spartan
King Menelaus, is not a happy man.
Betrayed by his would-be allies and his wife he is looking for
blood and sure to have
it. The only thing which modifies his desire for revenge is his
brother Agamemnon.
Agememnon has bigger plans - the addition of Troy and its wealth
to his already
large sphere of influence. He quickly sees how he can use Menelaus’
grievance to
forward his own political and mercantile objectives and sets out
to call in markers
among fellow Greeks. Before long Agamemnon has gathered a formidable
force which
includes such legendary figures as Ajax, Odysseus, and the recalcitrant
Achilles.
We have met Achilles before in this screenplay when, ostensibly
for Agamemnon,
he confronts and defeats the Thessalonian giant Boagrius in a
contest of champions.
Thus we know that Achilles is quite the tough customer. Achilles,
in fact, is rather
the odd duck. A masterful warrior, he’ll as soon kill a man
as eat dinner. He has no
reverence for authority and despises not only Agamemnon but most
other people
he comes in contact with. Two exceptions seem to be his young
friend Patroclus and
the warrior king Odysseus -- for whom he has a grudging regard.
In truth he has no
real interest in fighting Agamemnon’s wars for him but it
is Odysseus, with
intimations of glory to be gained on the battlefield, who gently
needles him into
joining the expedition against Troy. Now, I should say here, more
for the benefit of
those who are familiar with Homer’s version of events, that
the 'Gods' are not in
evidence throughout this script. The war between the Greeks and
Troy is an affair
of men, not their Gods and, although a number of the characters
defer to the
judgment of the Gods, others, such as Achilles and Hector, are
contemptuous
and dismissive of these predilections. Achilles and Hector depend
on their own
skill with weapons rather than the intercessions of Zeus or Apollo.
As the story progresses the Greeks flood
onto Trojan shores and into battle with
the desperate and hopelessly outnumbered defenders. But, good
as they are,
the Greeks are stymied by the fierce Trojans under the able leadership
of Hector.
Unlike in Homer’s version of events, both Menelaus and Ajax
fall before the
onslaught of the implacable Hector. When a quarrel between Achilles
and
Agamemnon results in the former removing himself from the action
to sulk in
his tent, the Greeks quickly find themselves in difficult straits.
Achilles’ young
friend Patroclus, unable to get his mentor to rejoin the fray,
secretly filches
Achilles’ armor and appears to rally the stricken Greeks.
Hector hopes to take
all of the fight out of the Greeks by taking Achilles out of the
fight and quickly
engages him in single combat. Hector wins his fight but discovers
that the
dying man is not Achilles but Patroclus. When Achilles discovers
that his young
friend has been slain his grief and rage are terrible and he plunges
back into the
fray to slake his thirst for revenge.
Rather than give away the entire plot
of the film at this stage I will merely
point out that again the screenwriter takes a few liberties with
the story as told
by Homer. Odysseus does indeed come up with the idea for the wooden
horse
but Achilles remains alive through this development (in Homer’s
version he is
long dead at Paris’ hand) and the wooden or 'Trojan Horse'
is drawn through
the gates to the ultimate discomfort of the Trojans. The plot
is telescoped
significantly in that the war, which according to Homer lasts
some 10 years,
here appears to last no more than a few weeks at most. Now, who
knows, maybe
that’s about how long the real siege lasted for, beyond Homer’s
account of 300
years after the fact, there is no evidence to the contrary. So
when the Classics
Professors get their knickers in a twist over any modifications
to the story, well,
stuff a sock in it, folks. It was a tale to the ancient Greeks
and it remains a
tale to this day. What Benioff has done is simply to modify the
tale in such a
way that it will capture and hold the interest of the modern audience
and in
that he has done his job well.
It is interesting to note that the last
screenplay I read was Gates of Fire about
the Spartan’s selfless sacrifice at Thermopylae in an effort
to preserve Greece
from the invading Persians (yes, a review of that piece is coming)
and yet that
screenplay, as good as it was, did not elicit the visceral reaction
that does this
tale. Granted the story of the Trojan War as recounted here is
not at base about
higher human values - here we see greed, lust, pride, envy, and
hatred in their
purest forms. There are few things demonstrably worth fighting
for in this effort.
Paris wants a woman so badly that he will risk his home, his country,
and his
family to obtain her. Agamemnon wants power so badly he will risk
the lives of
thousands of men to achieve his ends. Achilles is wrapped up in
himself and will
risk all to further his fame and immortality. These are not nice
folks. And yet,
the story here is more compelling, the action faster and more
engaging than
one might expect. So now we come down to my judgement on the project.
This will be one heck of an interesting and I suspect successful
picture.
Wolfgang Peterson will direct and Brad Pitt will square off against
Eric Bana.
They’ve got a good early draft of a script from which to
work so the omens are
good. In the meantime, for those who would like a deeper grounding
in the subject
matter have a go at 'The Iliad' by Homer...now, there are any
number of arguments
as to which translation to read but for my money, I’d go
for the Robert Fagles
translation (available through Penguin Classics). It’ll help
to pass the time while
waiting for Peterson to get this version on film - good reading!"
Frederick J. Chiaventone, an award-winning
novelist and screenwriter, is a retired
Army officer and Professor Emeritus of International Security
Affairs at the U.S.
Army’s Command and General Staff College. His most recent
book, Moon of
Bitter Cold, a novel of Red Cloud’s war, has just been nominated
for the
Pulitzer. His most recent piece for American Heritage magazine
(October 2002)
is on Native American leadership.
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