Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Kevin Reynolds
Cast :
James Franco……….Tristan
Sophia Myles……….Isolde
Rufus Sewell……….Lord Marke
David O’Hara……….King Donnchadh
Henry Cavill……….Melot
JB Blanc……….Leon
Jamie King……….Anwick
In every film that aspires to tell an epic love story in a time period with big epic battles, it seems, has to make a decision about how far it wants to take things in terms of its fight scenes. Ridley Scott turned up the blood and violence for Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, winning best picture for the former and critical acclaim for the latter. And for years he was attached to direct Tristan & Isolde, passing on it to do Alien instead. Settling for being Executive Producer of the film, Scott’s steady hand would have transformed this good film into a great one.
One really can’t blame Kevin Reynolds for not being one of the best directors of the last 30 years. Reynolds, better known for directing Waterworld and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, mans the helm of this telling of an English myth. Tristan (James Franco) is an English knight under the helm of Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell); Marke saved Tristan’s life as a child and has raised him as his own. In the years after the Romans left and before England was united, the Irish ruled the land. Under King Donnchadh (David O’Hara), war has raged between the two peoples. After a fierce battle, Tristan is presumed dead after being poisoned and his body is sent to the sea. Washing up on the shores of Ireland, he is taken care of by the King’s daughter Isolde (Sophia Myles) and they promptly fall in love. With all of the inherent difficulties in their relationship and some needed misdirection, as well as the king searching for Tristan, he departs back to England. Lured back to win the hand of the King’s daughter, Tristan wins her on behalf of Marke, and as a means of ending the bloodshed. The two have to handle their feelings for one another in the context of their relationship with Marke, all the while trying to maintain secrecy about it.
And Tristan & Isolde has its share of battle sequences as well. While limited as not to take away the relationship between Tristan and Isolde, there are plenty of medieval sword fights and battles to be found. What they lack in gore they make for in intensity; pared down to get a PG-13 rating, as well as attract the requisite teenaged audience to see a tragic love story, it takes away from what should be a much better series of battles.
The love story is quite good, though. Franco, Myles and Sewell have a strong sense of chemistry between each other. The sense of love between Myles and Franco is strong and defined. They have a strong bond between each other and do the little things well. When the two are together (and in public) they react and interact with one another (and others) in two distinct ways. When it comes to the human element Reynolds touch is much better; his touch with the battle scenes is good but feels hampered. There’s a sense that the battle scenes have been heavily edited as to not earn an R rating. The intensity of the drama doesn’t match the tense nature of the battles; part of the charm of Gladiator is that the dramatic moments were as engaging as the battle sequences. It takes away from what could’ve been a special film, turning it into a good one.
