The Messenger:
The Story Of Joan Of Arc (1999)
aka: Jeanne D'Arc
biography
directed
by : Luc Besson
featuring
: Milla Jovovich - John Malkovich - Faye Dunaway - Dustin Hoffman
running
time : 2 hours 38 minutes
In the 15th century, France is mired in
the 100 Years War when a humble voice appears, claiming to have been instructed
by the Lord to lead the French army into battle and defend their land against
the British. The voice belongs to Jeanne d'Aragon, a teenage girl from
a tiny village, and, to the surprise of many, her story does not fall on
deaf ears. Wearing the armor of a soldier, the girl known as Joan of Arc
leads the French troops in what she believes is a holy battle. Joan would
soon be tried for heresy for her actions, but history would vindicate her
with sainthood. The Messenger stars Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc, Faye
Dunaway as Yolande d'Aragon, and Dustin Hoffman as The Grand Inquisitor.
Directed by Luc Besson, The Messenger was originally titled Joan of Arc
but added the prefix to avoid confusion with the 1999 TV movie of the same
name, which starred
Leelee Sobieski.
Marketed as a modern spin on the
Joan of Arc saga,
The Messenger is no special delivery. The rape and murder
of young Joan's sister is the first of many hard-to-watch moments in this
expensive flop of a historical drama. Jovovich's manic performance as Joan
lacks the essence of complexity that director Besson asks the audience
to consider: is Joan truly a messenger of God or just plain "nuts," as
one soldier declares. Such laughable anachronistic dialogue, the overdone
breathy pleading, hysterical screaming, and watery blue-eyed stare of Jovovich,
and the miscasting of Hoffman as Joan's Conscience retracts any credibility
the film might have gained from a famed cast. Malkovich gives an entertaining
performance as the neurotic and effeminate Charles VII, Dauphin of France,
while Dunaway, as his mother-in-law, is interesting to watch — mostly because
of her costumes. The strongest minute of the movie is its final one, as
Joan is burned alive while the holy men watch, raising their own symbols
of God's will, suggesting a bold statement of hypocrisy by the director.