The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a biographical historical drama of the life, death and later canonization of the woman known as "The Maid of Orliéans" who helped to liberate France from the English in the 1400s.
I thought that the plot was interesting and cinematography was well done. There was some really good editing and fight sequences. This movie was released over 20 years ago but still held up visually. I wasn’t a fan of the soundtrack though. The music choices were odd, especially during some of the more serious scenes.
The character development was descent but the choice in cast was questionable. The actors, who were supposed to be French, didn’t speak the language and only two in the entire group, Vincent Cassel and Tchéky Karyo, even had French accents, which was a major disappointment. In the beginning it was hard to figure out who was what because of that. To me this was one of Milla Jovovich’s worst performances. The delivery of her lines reminded me of her character, Leeloo, from The 5th Element, which she had filmed just prior to this movie. In regard to her range, I felt like she was doing too much. I get that her character was supposed to be overwhelmed by the message she perceived that God was giving her, but she just came off as manic, on the brink of a panic attack. And when she wasn’t talking to herself and pacing around she was lashing out at others like a moody child.
I am a huge fan of Mila’s later work but this was not a good fit for her. The movie had potential but in the end wasn’t that great and can be easily skipped.
