Thinking back to other epics that have been hopelessly botched on the big screen, I kept my fingers crossed, hoping that Tristan & Isolde would not be another disappointment. As it turns out, director Kevin Reynolds gives this epic story all the beautiful filmmaking it deserves. Unlike that lame stab at a retelling of the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot love triangle First Knight, where Lancelot is a commoner who struggles to adopt the values of a higher class, there are no clumsy attempts here to insert modern social issues or unnecessary psychobabble. Instead, the script sticks to the key elements of the ancient legend, definitely a wise choice for retelling a tale that is self-sufficient and elegant in its simplicity.
Tristan & Isolde is set in the Dark Ages, not long after the Roman conquest of Britain. A country suffering from chaos and disunity, Britain must pay tribute to the King of Ireland. After his parents are killed in an attempt to take a stand against the Irish, young Tristan (portrayed by the adorable Thomas Sangster from Love Actually) is rescued by Lord Marke of Cornwall (Rufus Sewell), and the two form a seemingly unbreakable father-son bond as they struggle to fulfill their dream of unifying Britain and making it strong enough to fight against Ireland. Everything is just dandy until Tristan (all grown up now and played by James Franco) has a scrape with a particularly ferocious Irish general. Tristan is presumed dead, but, as fate would have it, he is found and nursed back to health by Isolde (Sophia Myles), the daughter of the Irish king. They live a very brief secret romance, before Tristan’s presence is discovered and he must return to Britain.
Upon his return, Tristan does not tell anyone what happened to him, and remains isolated and brooding. His melancholy turns to extreme suffering when he realizes that Isolde is to be married to Lord Marke in an attempt to forge a truce between the two kingdoms. The result is, of course, a classic conflict between love and honour, as the tragedy spirals down to its inevitable (but not predictable) conclusion.
Rufus Sewell is spot-on as the tough-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside Lord Marke, and James Franco and Sophia Myles each do a fine job as the title characters—unlike Lord of the Rings (another bungled epic in which the story is interrupted every five minutes with a crying and hugging session), there is no over-acting or excessive sentimentality.
Reynolds creates a sensual atmosphere, using vistas of sprawling oceans and shimmering hills. For those who are not content simply to stare at some hills, though, there is some serious loving and fighting here as well. Even with a PG-13 rating, the sexual scenes are rich in sensuality and emotion. And the battles are made amazingly dynamic by a constantly moving camera. If you’ve seen The Count of Monte Cristo (also directed by Reynolds), you’ll remember that wonderfully berserk duel; well, the fighting choreography in Tristan & Isolde is just as intense—this is definitely no ballroom dance. On the big screen in a darkened theatre, you’ll get your share of thrills as you’re pulled right into the breathtaking speed and violence of the fights.
But perhaps the most important thing in directing an epic is the ability to make a particular time and place both vivid and believable for the audience, and Tristan & Isolde succeeds in this: for two hours and five minutes we are transported to a completely different world. Now, if only someone could go and make an equally good King Arthur movie, all drinks will be on me." (Sonya Solo, vueweekly, Edmonton, January 15. 2006)
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