Let's Get Lost
Gorgeous, uneven historical romance transports to another world

Despite marketing trends to the contrary, plenty of us are passionate about historical fiction, whether onscreen or on the page. It's not just escapism, although there's a lot to escapr from these days. But stepping into the past—and the more distant, the better—frees up the iagination and sparks creative fantasizing in a way contemporary stories seldom do. Sure, the genre produces its share of spectacular failures (Alexander, anyone?) But I'm far more likely to have fun at even a mediocre historical epic than the most proficiently-made high-tech modern thriller full of cars, guns and explosions.

Happily, Tristan & Isolde is not mediocre. Although it snuck into town last week with little fanfare, local genre fans turned out to support this Dark Ages-era romance of Celtic Britain from Kevin Reynols (longtime Kevin Costner associate whose portfolio includes both Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld). On many levels, Tristan & Isolde could have been much better. But if you want to get swept away in a romantic historical epic, it could be just the ticket, all aswirl in ravishing ancient costumes, glorious locations, illicit pasions and torchlight. It may be less filling, but it looks great.

Don't worry if you don't know the original legend, or even the Wagner opera it spawned. Neither does Reynolds, or at least he's selective about which elements to use. He tosses out the most fundamental (and stickiest) element of the traditional story—a love potion the lovers mistakenly drink en route to Isolde's wedding to someone else that binds them helplessly in a lifelong adulterous affair. Reynolds opts for a more tried-and-true scenario of romantic tragedy, rewriting the tale as a very thinly veiled King Arthur-Guenevere-Lancelot love triangle, with a dash of Romeo And Juliet thrown in for spice.

In this version, Tristan is an orphan boy in a region of coastal Britain continually invaded and fleeced by the fighting Irish. He's taken in by noble King Marke of Cornwall (Rufus Sewell), whose dream is to unify all the bickering tribes of Britain (Celts, Picts, Angles, Saxons) to repel the Irish marauders once and for all. As Tristan grows into a strapping youth (cute, if very modern-looking James Franco), he becomes Marke's champion and designated heir.

Tristan leads a clever assault on a band of Irish warriors demanding tribute. But he's wounded in the battle and sent out to sea in an open funeral boat by his grieving comrades. Washing up in Ireland, he's nursed back to health in secret by a kind and beautiful young healer who doesn't tell him her name is Isolde (Sophia Myles)—rebellious daughter of the hated Irish king. They fall rapturously in love. (Who needs a potion? They have the windswept Irish Sea, poundung surf, languid firelit evenings, and a book—yes, a book—of love poetry that sounds suspiciously like the work of John Donne, who would not write it for another eleven centuries). But duty pulls the lovers apart.

To further divide the tribes, the Irish king holds a tournament offering his daughter as the prize; it's rigged to favor a sniveling tribal leader the others will never follow, but Tristan wins the tournament and claims Isolde for King Marke, who hopes the alliance will bring peace. But despite the nobility of the cause, Tristan and Isolde can't suppress their love for each other, nor stop themselves betraying the noble king who loves them both.

For a story so full of banked, forbidden passion, the movie could be a little more stirring. Reynolds and his cast are feverishly earnest, but we don't feel the heat; the emotions in this overly familiar tale are strictly paint-by-numbers. Too many muddy battle sequences where you can't tell the Brits from the Irish do little to take up the slack.

On the other hand, the rugged, hand-hewn forts and keeps and meeting halls have the ring of period authenticity, as do the old Roman frescoes that decorate the shadowy interiors. Isolde's stunning costumes are right out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. And there are some irresistible set pieces, notably Isolde on her bridal barge festooned with flowers floating downriver by torchlight. If you're looking to get lost for a couple of hours, this is the place to be.

TRISTAN & ISOLDE With James Franco, Sophia Myles and Rufus Sewell. Written and directed by Kevin Reynolds. A 20th Century Fox release. Rated PG-13. 125 minutes. (**1/2)
Review published in Good Times, Jan. 26, 2006