TRISTAN & ISOLDE
For most of us the only knowledge we have of this particular pair of star-crossed lovers is the Wagner opera, in which a love potion (not natural passion) causes them to fall in love. Tristan and Isolde are classic lovers, but both history and myth differ somewhat from the Wagner libretto and in ways other than in the use of magic potions.
Here we see a Britain left to its own devices after the withdrawal of the crumbling Roman Empire. It is an island inhabited by a group of tribes, none of which are strong enough to repel the constant invasions of the organized and consolidated Irish. King Mark hopes to bring the tribes together by establishing a unified order and ensconcing a sole leader to keep their borders free from the “Irish peril.”
In this way he mirrors the legendary King Arthur and his vision of a unified Britain. Mark mirrors Arthur in one other significant way. His adopted son and best friend falls in love with his wife and the first classic love triangle enters our common folklore and mythology.
In this new film, directed by Kevin Reynolds, Isolde finds the wounded Tristan on a beach and secretly nurses him back to health, meanwhile falling in love with him. Both are unaware that he has just killed her father and betrothed in battle. They part as lovers, knowing their warring nations can never bring them together. Then a truce is formed between the new Britain and Ireland, the consolidation of which is the marriage of the Irish princess to the new British king – Mark. When the lovers learn the true situation, they are torn between two passions, their love for each other and their loyalty and devotion to the man they both love, the kindly and noble King Mark.
James Franco, who showed such promise early in his career with his astonishing incarnation of James Dean in the tv bio –JAMES DEAN (for which he won a Golden Globe, a Broadcast Film Critics Award and several other best actor nominations) – has failed to deliver ever since. He has appeared in 35 productions, most notably as the sidekick villain in the SPIDERMAN series, but his spark has still to ignite. Here he plays a listless and brooding Tristan and is unable to muster either the all engulfing passion he should feel for his Isolde, nor the heart-wrenching torment of his betrayal for his friend, foster father and king.
Similarly, Sophia Myles projects neither the nobility of a princess, nor the intelligence and compassion of a powerful woman torn in two directions by head and heart.
Luckily, we have the superb Rufus Sewell as King Mark – ultimately the only reason other than the historical narrative for seeing this film, newly out on dvd.
Sewell has come a long way since his MIDDLEMARCH and COLD COMFORT FARM performances in which his smoldering was quite enough to justify watching. He has appeared in 36 productions to date and has grown into a powerful, intelligent and passionate actor. His King Mark is reminiscent of his Agamemnon in HELEN OF TROY. Both Kings are torn between head and heart, duty and personal desire, and in Sewell’s performances in both we see the multi-layered pain- the weight of the crown, the disappointment of compromise and the shattering of dreams. Sewell’s work here is as good as he’s ever given us and he quite rightly steals the film away from Franco and Myles.
The film itself is rather dull. The cinematographer, Artur Reinhart, has taken the period of the Dark Ages, wherein it is set, a bit too seriously. The sun never shines in his production – it is murky, dark, muddy and altogether depressingly miserable.
Director Reynolds comes alive only in the battle scenes (suitably though shockingly brutal and gory). This is why God invented the fast forward button.
All in all, TRISTAN & ISOLDE fails to ignite any passion, either on screen or in its audience. I recommend it for those interested in British history and for the fine performance of Rufus Sewell. All others be warned.