TRISTSAN & ISOLDE 

“Tristan & Isolde” is an old fashion love triangle rooted in the Dark Ages. The plot is much closer in structure, feel and temperament to the classic tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table rather than the Romeo and Juliet angle ballyhooed in the coming attractions. Like Arthur, Lord Marke of Cornwall (Rufus Sewell) hopes to unite the lords of the Anglo fiefdoms into a unified country under one king to protect themselves against the invasions from the Irish Isles and the Saxon shores.

When the Irish invade the English coast, Tristan (James Franco) is orphaned and raised by Marke as a son. Years later after a raid, the grown Tristan is shipwrecked on the Irish coast and nursed back to health in secret by Isolde (ravishing newcomer Sophia Myles), the daughter of the Irish King Donnchadh (David O’Hara). She never reveals her identity to Tristan. They fall in love. Tristan escapes back to England with the girl of his dreams forever in his thoughts. Donnchadh devises a scheme to pit the English lords against each other in a trial by combat. The prize: the hand of Isolde in marriage and a lasting peace. Tristan represents his stepfather,  Marke. He wins only to discover that his savior, nurse, and lover and Isolde are one and the same. Like Lancelot’s love for Guinnevere, and betrayal of King Arthur’s trust, Tristan and Isolde carry on a clandestine love affair after she marries Marke. It threatens to destroy the kingdom from within while King Donnchadh plots with the other English lords to bring Marke down. The  plot becomes even trickier pitting brother against brother and son against father - not unlike Mordred in the tales of Arthur.

Director Kevin Reynolds, friend and collaborator with Kevin Costner on the hit “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991) brings the same squalid look to the Dark Ages as he did to Sherwood Forest while painting the lovers glowing in shadow and light. The battle scenes are well mounted and the court intrigues well staged. “Tritan & Isolde” is a decent date flick that strikes just the right balance between action and romance.

                                                                                                                      Copyright 2006