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Following the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain, the indigenous
population have reasserted their tribal ways. Divided amongst
themselves, and at war with Ireland, Tristan is born into
a world of conflict. After his parents are killed in an Irish
raid he is taken in by Lord Marke, growing into a man of great
passion. Tristan is wounded in battle and presumed dead, but
the poison which courses through Tristan's body only paralyses
him and he finds himself washed up on an Irish beach where
he is found by Isolde, who nurses him back to heath. When
Tristan is fully recovered and returns home he is sent once
more to Ireland to acquire a wife for Marke little knowing
that the maiden that he is fighting for is Isolde. In the
face of such a cruel twist of fate can Tristan and Isolde
put aside their love or will it bring down a Kingdom...?
Tristan
and Isolde (2006) was directed by Kevin Reynolds from
a script by Dean Georgaris and to cut to the chase is a beautiful
film.
I
was ready to put the film in the pile entitled chick flicks,
but how wrong could I be. What we have here is a beautifully
told, bittersweet tale of a love that fate would not allow.
Okay, so it's an old theme, which reappears in Romeo and
Juliet and even rears its head in the affair between Sir
Lancelot and Guinevere.
Before
I wax lyrical about just how good the film is I have to point
out one glaring problem, Tristan. Now, there was nothing wrong
with James Franco's performance, although he did come across
as a little on the ineffectively wet side when it came to
Isolde. No, the biggest problem was that Rufus Sewell, as
Marke, is just so much better looking than Franco. Now as
a full blooded male I wasn't going to bring up the subject
of me fancying Marke over Tristan, but thankfully the two
females I watched the film with were full of enthusiasm for
Marke compared to Tristan. With a big sigh of relief I realised
that it wasn't just me. Unfortunately, this rather detracts
from the central love theme if your audience is rooting for
the wrong man.
Apart
from that small gripe, the film was a real delight to review.
The cinematography by Artur Reinhart, who worked on Children
of Dune, is nothing short of stunning with
every frame a delight to the eyes. Kevin Reynolds, who had
previously directed Waterworld (stop giggling in the
back, I liked it, so that makes two of us) does a fantastic
job of getting the best out of his actors, to the point that
it is difficult to find anything negative to say about their
performances. Sophia Myles is just a stunning looking woman
and the warmth that she brought to the role of Isolde, had
me falling in love with her quicker than Tristan and the ending
had the girls in tears.
Okay,
so it sounds like a chick flick, but the film is set in the
Dark Ages, therefore there is a good quantity of running around
with swords, stabbing each other. Not much of a hobby, I know,
but there was little else to do at the time. The fight scenes
are well choreographed and get the old blood pumping; it is
in these scenes particularly that Franco shines, still you
cant help but feel that there would be few men that wouldn't
be turned to mush confronted by Isolde.
There
are no audio options, so you get 5.1 whether you like it or
not, however the film comes with a very generous set of full
length commentaries - one from the writer Dean Georgaris and
another from the executive producer Jim Lemley and co-producer
Anne Lai. On top of that, you get a music promo, an image
gallery and a making of featurette. Although it looks like
there are more extras on the disc the Look Inside and
Coming Soon features just consist of promos for forthcoming
films.
So,
what more can you ask for? The film has an intelligent script
delivered by some great acting, confidently directed by Reynolds.
Grab a bottle of wine, and your woman, and you're in for a
good evening, just don't mention that you fancy Marke rather
than Tristan.
 
Charles
Packer
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