As a well-crafted and historically accurate chronicle of Alexandria in late antiquity, this movie compares favorably with HBO's *Rome,* and it actually trumps *Rome* in its fidelity to fact. Without sentimentality or smarminess, without intrusive soundtrack music, we see the life and death of Hypatia, one of the greatest astronomers & mathematicians of the ancient world. The ever-lovely Rachel Weisz gives a thoughtful performance as the title character, and Max Minghella is very good as Davus, the brooding slave boy whose unrequited devotion remains as steady as the stars.
Although Davus is fictional, the other major characters - Theon (Hypatia's father), Orestes (her aristocratic suitor, played by Oscar Isaac), Synesius (her Christian student, later Bishop of Cyrene), Cyril (Bishop of Alexandria), and Ammonius the monk - were all real people who behaved more or less as they are portrayed. The story is extremely relevant to contemporary events, both in the U. S. and in the Muslim world, yet it never falsifies its source material. The destruction of the Serapeion, the religious policing of the Parabolani, the persecution of the Jews, the public attack on Orestes, and the high status of Hypatia in her native city are all recorded by authors who lived in that era.
Especially striking for me was the fact that Hypatia's disciples included both pagans and Christians, and that she herself considered such religious differences insignificant next to the humanity we all share.
I recommend this movie for anybody who enjoys historical dramas. For more details on the historical background, try *Hypatia of Alexandria* by Maria Dzielska.
