“Tristan & Isolde” Directed by Kevin
Reynolds 20th Century Fox
The heroes of “Tristan & Isolde” are being
advertised as the Romeo and Juliet of medieval times, so the film
ought to be tragic ““ but not this tragic. The plight of Romeo
and Juliet is heartbreaking because they work so hard to escape
together. On the other hand, Tristan and Isolde accept
Isolde’s engagement to another man without putting up a
fight. Since the characters are not invested in finding their own
happiness, there is little incentive for the audience to care
either.
Most characters in the film are formulaic and one can sense
their part in the plot from the beginning.
Tristan’s character is established as a young boy ““
he has a hard time fitting in with the family of his adoptive
father Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell) because he does not want to fight.
His peers tease him and the audience admires his attempts at
pacifism.
As the grown-up Tristan, James Franco does not have to prove
Tristan is a good guy; his younger version did as much. He brings
an attractive arrogance to the part, similar to his role as the
goodish bad guy in the Spiderman films. But when he gives up on a
happy ending, he just mopes around, looking angry, waiting for
another story line to kick in so his character can do
something.
Isolde (Sophia Myles) is an independent-minded princess straight
from a dozen other movies: Her kind mother died young and her
ruthless father lives on. When he arranges her marriage, Isolde
asks him (a la “Princess Diaries 2″), “Am I just
a chattel to be traded?” The conversation ends with him
telling her to obey, and the audience knows he’ll be sorry
for his lack of political correctness.
One of the few surprises in the film is Lord Marke, played by
Rufus Sewell, an actor who usually plays villains. Marke marries
Isolde, unaware that she loves another, and Tristan lies by telling
Marke that she is faithful. In a telling bit of dialogue, Marke
falls off his horse while riding with all of his men (minus
Tristan), and declares that nothing is hurt but his pride. The film
quickly cuts to Tristan and Isolde in a love scene by the river.
And the slight ambiguity of who is in the right invests the viewer
in the outcome of the story.
But tragedy in extreme forms is comedy, and there are some true
tragic gems here. An ancient map with old-fashioned calligraphy
appears to show the locations of different kingdoms. The names of
cities light up as if giving a history lesson. Isolde will not stop
reading deep, meaningful poetry ““ sometimes in voice-over.
But it’s the epilogue ““ fancily scripted text tacked on
at the end ““ that is, unintentionally, the funniest thing in
the film. It captures the inflated tone and gives the story lines
the confusing endings they deserve.
““ Amy Crocker