Caesar and Cleopatra

Caesar and Cleopatra is a strong case study of a lavish production with a sluggish and fitfully dull outcome. The main problem, which is obvious to anyone viewing the film, is that the entire spectacle causes the viewer to be removed from the characters and their societal drama. Both of these things are far more interesting than the spectacle. Why? George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright armed with a whip-smart acerbic wit, is known for writing richly detailed characters and smartly observant dialogue. Here those words are working against a film that is visually elephantine and plodding. It’s purely stage bound and never allows the film to breathe the way it should despite being so ornately detailed. But it’s not for a lack of trying to give the material life from the lead actors that the film fails. Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh give their typically solid work here. Rains is, as always, withering and deeply cynical as Caesar. His work is so good that I expected to look it up and find an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his work in this film; I only found a nomination for John Bryan’s art direction. And Leigh’s performance as Cleopatra starts out as a kittenish youth and ends with her as a sexually confident and mature empress. Her alabaster skin, dark hair and exotic costuming and makeup help to mark the transition, but it’s her sheer dedication and willpower as an actress that makes the performance so commanding. They both deserved a better film.