It is the late 4th century. The (Western) Roman Empire is on its last legs. Forces both without and within are tearing at its foundations, not least the religious beliefs which held its moral sway over Roman civilization down the centuries. As in a doomed ship those who remain fight increasingly viciously for the spoils.
Amidst this turmoil is someone distinctly out of place. Naively unaware of what's happening around her a philosopher, Hypatia, continues teaching the old learning brought down thought the centuries from Plato and Aristotle. She is apolitical, innocent, naïve. At first this works for her as the various factions fighting each other either ignore her or treat her as someone above the fray. But in the end it proves to be her downfall as she naively continues to pretend that nothing will happen to her.
We know almost nothing of the real Hypatia of the 4th century, so almost all of what is portrayed in this movie is made up. It's unlikely she came up with Kepler's theorem over a thousand years before Kepler, but it's a lovely scene nevertheless in a well written and plausible plot. The makers have chosen to highlight the politico-religious factionalism which struck Alexandria at this time, really a fight for what would remain of the Roman Empire between the old guys (Pagans), the new guys (Christians) and the guys in the middle (Jews).
Amenabar has to be commended on the subtlety of the story. He could have gone with the standard Hollywood trope of Christians bad anyone else good. But he managed to mostly to resist this, showing how Christianity was so appealing to the slaves and the poor, who previously were treated with brutality and contempt by Roman society. In a sense, Christianity empowered the previously powerless. The so called mob attacks of the raggedly looking Christians can be seen as the revenge of the newly empowered underclass on those who previously tormented them.
Of course a lot of this will go above the heads of most viewers, as Amenabar skillfully caters to the more Hollywood aspects of moviemaking with the usual scenes of fighting, violence etc. Hypatia is beautifully portrayed by Weiss, and the acting and production values overall are fantastic. Just a superbly made movie with a number of levels, at least one catering to your particular prejudice and taste.
