When a movie theater fills to capacity and people are being turned away, you'd hope that this says something about a movie. This isn't the case for "Tristan and Isolde." The main reason why the theater filled up? It was full of teenage girls anxiously awaiting the pretty lead actor -- James Franco (also of "Spiderman" fame) -- to come on screen.
The story is said to be a Celtic legend, one that William Shakespeare based "Romeo and Juliet" on. The timeline sets the story during the Dark Ages after the Roman Empire fell. It begins with young Tristan (Thomas Sangster) being orphaned and raised by Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell, "A Knight's Tale"). The Irish are trying to suppress revolts by different English tribes in the area, which include the tribe lead by Marke. A young Isolde (Isobel Scott Moynihan) -- the Irish princess -- is also introduced, but she isn't as important in the beginning.
Tristan and Isolde (now played by Sophia Myles, "Underworld") grow up and assume their roles. Tristan is now a knight sworn to serve Marke and Isolde is a doting daughter, betrothed to the Irish king's favorite knight who ultimately dies. They meet by chance. Tristan is thought to have been dead after a fight and has something like a Viking funeral -- sent out to sea by boat only to end up on Irish soil. Isolde realizes he's not dead and nurses him back to health. She doesn't let on that she is the princess. He goes on his way back to Marke once he is fully healed.
The Irish king decides that he will hold a competition to keep the tribes fighting amongst themselves and Isolde's hand in marriage will be the prize. Tristan competes, but for Marke and not himself. It's easy to see the surprise on his face when he wins and has to hide his feelings because he owes Marke his life. But the question is how can you hide love? The cliché is that love will always find a way, even in the most impossible situations.
This is a gorgeously filmed movie, but it can lag and excited Franco fans can be distracting. The colors, locations and the actors all seem to fit their roles perfectly, but then there still seem to be things that are out of sync.
The opening of the movie gives a bit of historical background, but this background seems misleading with questionable accuracy. The movie mentions how Ireland is untouched by the Romans. This seems illogical because the Romans brought Catholicism to different parts of the world. The fact that the Irish are Catholic could cause confusion. The statement could have been explained better.
The actors give as much to their roles as they can. Sangster is known as the lovesick Sam in "Love Actually," but now he can be known as the young spitfire Tristan in "Tristan & Isolde." Myles and Franco have believable chemistry, but not the kind that begs the audience to really root for them.
However, Myles shines as Isolde, her pain resonates and you can see in her facial features how torn she is. Franco turns out to be more eye candy than the perfect actor for the role.
A surprisingly fresh character in the movie is Bragnae (Bronagh Gallagher). She plays Isolde's maid and adds some comic relief to the scenes she is in, since she does shadow her charge. A certain scene requires her to strip off her clothes and she utters that she hasn't been in a situation like this in 15 years. The way Gallagher delivers the line is enough to make anyone burst out laughing.
"Tristan & Isolde" was originally going to be directed by Ridley Scott in the 1970s and he could have had a "Gladiator"-esque movie before Russell Crowe came around. He never got around to it, but he stepped into a producing role for the current movie. It's easy to see what kind of influence he had on the movie as well.
This is one of those movies that is hyped up by the trailers and turns out to be a bit of a let down. The one really good thing that spawned from "Tristan & Isolde" is the song "We Belong Together" by Gavin Degraw from the soundtrack.
"Tristan & Isolde" is now playing at theaters everywhere.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
