Those young scamps Romeo and Juliet get all the headlines, but the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde was knocking around even before Shakespeare’s lovers hit the deck. Celebrated in poetry and opera, and a probable influence on the tale of Camelot, these two have staying power.
The legend of Tristan and Isolde has long bewitched filmmaker Ridley Scott, who has finally produced a film about them. “Tristan &Isolde,” directed by Kevin Reynolds, is a handsome and mostly satisfying romantic take on the tale.
According to the movie, the Dark Ages were well in gear when the love story occurred. Tristan (James Franco) is the adopted ward of Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), a tribal king on the divided island of Britain. “Great” Britain this ain’t. The island is a divided place of warring Celts and Picts and Saxons, left behind to squabble amongst themselves when the ruling Romans split. (An echo of the current Balkans or Iraq? The movie doesn’t push too many explicit political metaphors, as Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven” did.)
These different factions are all paying ransom to the Irish, who are depicted as brutal. Can Marke and Tristan unite the British tribes against the Irish? Before they find out, Tristan is apparently killed in battle, and his body sent to sea on a boat, Viking funeral-style.
Ah, but he’s only poisoned, which means he washes up alive in Ireland, straight into the arms of the Irish king’s daughter, Isolde (Sophia Myles). Therein begins the star-crossed lovers part of the yarn, although it gets even better later when Isolde is brought to Britain for an especially difficult purpose.
Reynolds, who did a dandy job with his version of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” delivers the sweeping vistas and battle scenes expected here, but he has rightly put his attention on the lovers. The script, by Dean Georgaris, has plenty of goo-goo eyes but some surprisingly literate passages as well.
And the casting is appealing. Rufus Sewell is suitably romantic and tormented as the King Arthur-like Marke. Sophia Myles, who did an Emma Peel number in “Thunderbirds,” segues nicely into the period costumes and manages to suggest more than just a pretty face, although she certainly has that.
| “Tristan &Isolde” HH
Passable: A classic Dark Ages love story is brought to life, with James Franco on the side of a British tribe and Sophia Myles the daughter of the Irish king. Their star-crossed love makes for a humorless but passable entertainment, produced by Ridley Scott. Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence Now showing: tk |
James Franco played James Dean in an award-winning TV movie, and he was solid in last year’s “The Great Raid.” This film will do nothing to hurt his chances of being the year’s pin-up boy for adolescent girls, but the actor himself brings an interior, brooding quality to his role that wears well.
So there’s enough that’s good about this film to make me wonder why it doesn’t ignite more often. A certain visual monotony, and an almost complete absence of humor, might be two reasons. Still, as a Saturday matinee on a rainy day, “Tristan &Isolde” should provide suitable escape.
James Franco and Sophia Myles are “Tristan &Isolde.”
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