3. The Messenger: The Story Of Joan Of Arc
With movies like Taxi and The Transporter to his name, Luc Besson is hardly a filmmaker who would inspire confidence in those who like their historical epics to be grounded in a semblance of reality. Sure enough, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc dispenses with what historians know in favour of a distorted version which lends itself better to on-screen drama. Milla Jovovich's central performance in the title role is better than could have been expected given her limited range, but the emphasis on her fractured psyche couldn't be further from the truth. While the movie portrays her as borderline delusional after witnessing a horrific event, nothing of the sort exists in the historical record. Indeed, the evidence points to her being calm and collected, full of generosity and warmth. Given that this was supposed to be a biopic, getting her personality so excruciating wrong is kind of baffling (you had one job, Besson!) Besson was clearly far more concerned with getting the action looking just right, and chose to trade in historical characteristics of his protagonist for blood-soaked fields swarming with armies instead. For her troubles, Jovovich earned herself a Golden Raspberry Awards nomination.