Tristan and Isolde By Julie Gray Mar 17, 2006 - 7:17:00 AM

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TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
DIRECTOR: Kevin Reynolds
WRITER: Dean Georgaris
PRODUCERS: Moshe Diamant, Lisa Ellzey, Giannina Facio, and Elie Samaha

Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David O'Hara, Henry Cavill

Rating: MPAA – PG-13 for intense battle sequences and some sexuality.

Running time: 125 minutes

Why you might like this:
· Eye candy in the form of James Franco as Tristan and Sophia Myles as Isolde
· The action scenes are well choreographed
· A different take on the old 'Romeo and Juliet' storyline with an interesting twist
- Rufus Sewell brings some depth to the love story as Lord Marke

Why you might not like this:
· The lines between historical fact and myth are often blurred
· The American accents somehow manage to creep into the dialogue even though this movie is set in Britannia during the Dark Ages.
- James Franco's Tristan goes from sword-wielding hero to super-depressing guy in 30 minutes flat

Tristan (James Franco) is a young lad living in war ravaged Britain shortly after the Romans have withdrawn. England is under Irish control ruled by Ireland's King (King Donnchadh played by David O'Hara). Lord Aragon (Tristan's father) organises a secret meeting with the other English noblemen to discuss the idea of opposing the Irish ruler. The Irish arrive at the castle and many are killed, including Tristan's parents. Tristan is heroically saved by Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell). Lord Marke takes the remaining survivors back to his castle in Cornwall along with Tristan whom he adopts as his son. We are then briefly introduced to a very young Isolde, who is attending the funeral of her mother, the Queen of Ireland. 9 years pass and Tristan has become a skilled swordsman. The English nobles are still scattered and divided through-out England without a ruler. When Isolde and Tristan eventually meet, they fall hopelessly in love with each other despite all odds. The two lovers are then separated only to be reunited under painful circumstances. Once the twist in the story unfolds however, Tristan finds his life has suddenly become a deep, dark hole of self-pity and regret. Isolde does her best to play the part of the woman torn between her duty to her father and her love for Tristan. Eventually, their love turns into a downwards-spiralling force of destruction capturing innocent people in its wake.

The story itself is one we know has been told before. 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Excalibur' and 'King Arthur' come to mind as obvious influences. This could be easily overlooked however, if the characters were strong enough to pull it off. Rufus Sewell is worth a mention as Lord Marke, as is David O'Hara as charismatic King Donnchadh. But the one to look out for is Wicktred (played by Mark Strong) who is ultimately the most entertaining to watch as the character we love to hate. James Franco is pretty enough and can carry off the sword-play just so but really didn't have enough backbone as Tristan. Sophia Myles as Isolde looked beautiful but somehow managed to became a part of the scenery.

Tristan and Isolde is definitely not the new version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. The feeling of tragedy was present but was barely felt to be believable. Although the chemistry between James Franco's Tristan and Sophia Myles' Isolde looked good on screen, it didn't really grab us deep down where it should. The scenery was lovely, the costumes were beautiful and the action scenes and sword-fighting were well choreogrpahed. But something was missing. Tristan and Isolde's story felt like the clone of something else more unique. The tragedy of their love was lost somewhere in the telling. And the moral of the story; no matter how insignificant the lie, it will always find a way back to you. True love is no match for the power of deceit.

-End

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