Ridely Scott's staging of France's latest judicial ordeal is powerful and visually impeccable BUT it does not escape several problems that severely undercut the score:
- the triple narrative process is heavy, boring ;
- the characters are somewhat caricatured and thin;
- as in many fantasised Middle Ages, the sky is never, ever, ever blue. It is permanent winter.
- There is no courtly love, just thick brutes. It is a politically correct feminist retelling of the period.
- the church is referred to as a sex-criminal rammis, how easy.
- There was a time when violence could be powerfully suggested without being shown. It seems Ridley Scott has lost that power.
It's a pity; it just missed being a masterpiece.