THE ALAMO

The battle of the Alamo in 1836 is one of the most legendary incidents in American history, with less than 200 men holding down the fort for 13 days against thousands of troops under the command of Mexican General Santa Anna. It has been written about, fictionalized, dramatized, analyzed and debated a great deal, with (according to the production notes) 13 previous narrative films on the subject.

Now director (and Texan) John Lee Hancock, who shares script credit with Leslie Bohem and Stephen Gaghan, adds his vision to the sum total. That is, part of Hancock's vision has reached the screen reportedly, at least half an hour was cut out of the final version, which may (or may not) explain why this latest take on THE ALAMO seems so detailed in some places and sparsely elliptical in others, with a weirdly contradictory tone.

THE ALAMO begins after the battle has occurred, with a distraught messenger telling a deeply troubled Gen. Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid), "They're all dead!" Flash back to a year earlier, when a jovial Houston persuades the legendary David "Davy" Crockett to head out to Texas, where Houston hopes to become president of a republic that he believes can be formed shortly. Crockett winds up at the Alamo, a mission turned military fort. Tensions are rumbling between the regular Army soldiers commanded by young, stiff-back Lt. Col. Travis (Patrick Wilson) and the volunteers under unpredictable (and unhealthy) James Bowie (Jason Patric). Meanwhile, Mexican leader Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria), who claims San Antonio as his own, is intent on recapturing the fort.

The writers are careful to give us the pre-history of the Alamo, and the film extends past the battle at the title site into Houston's eventual confrontation with Santa Anna. We get an idea of what occurred when and what the various personages involved were thinking at the time. What we don't get a clear picture of is what the filmmakers are trying to say about the entire business. At various points, THE ALAMO seems to hold the view that the entire battle was a futile tragedy that could have been averted if either Santa Anna had placed more value on the lives of his men or Travis had been less rigid, while at others, it wishes us to see it as a patriotic endeavor. The latter doesn't ever fully make sense, as we know that the Republic of Texas did not endure and no case is made as to why it was a cause worth dying for.

The best thing about the film, in terms of both writing and acting, is Davy Crockett, conceived by the filmmakers and portrayed by Thornton as a man bemused and slightly both tickled and chagrined by his own legend, who has enough heroism not to abandon comrades in need and enough common sense to be horrified by the increasingly grim circumstances around him. Patric is convincingly dangerous as Bowie and Wilson is nicely nuanced and balanced as the priggish yet sincere Travis. Quaid plays Houston as a man in a state of inarticulate melancholy rage throughout most of the film, something that might make more sense with the inclusion of the excised footage. Jordi Molla provides an undercurrent of passion to his soft-spoken, sad-eyed Juan Seguin. Emilio Echevarria plays Santa Anna as a despot who truly believes he is on the side of right.

For a movie that focuses on two bloody battles, THE ALAMO is surprisingly dialogue-heavy and action-light, though when the violence comes, it is powerful and disturbing. There are a number of variations on men contemplating their mortality, which are individually effective but lose some impact when grouped together. There are some moments of nervy charm, mostly revolving around surprise moves by Crockett. We do come away respecting the courage of those that fell, but we are ultimately more disquieted and bewildered than stirred.