I had reservations upon my first learning of the film Tristan & Isolde, simply because there have been so many movies lately styled in this historical vein. I wondered how many epic live stories I could survive, considering I had already watched several in the past few months alone. Then there is the casting of James Franco as Tristan. I've no doubt he has a boatload of talent, but did he have the ability to pull off a character so far removed from anything he had done previously. This seemed more a role built for Orlando Bloom. But I will address that shortly. Tristan & Isolde is one of those epic love stories that promise sword fights and spectacular battle sequences. Fortunately for the film, it has just enough of both to keep it interesting yet not too much of either as to overpower the story. Speaking of the story, it is one of the proverbial 'star crossed lovers' that have been a staple of literature for as long as there has been… well… literature. 'Romeo & Juliet', 'Robin Hood & Maid Marion'… heck, even 'Buffy & Angel' and 'Lady & The Tramp' come to mind.

The story here takes place during the segregation that took place in the Britons following the fall of the Roman Empire. Tristan is a Briton, whose family is slaughtered while still a child. He is taken in by Lorde Marke and grows into a great warrior. After being injured and left for dead, he is found by Isolde, who is the daughter of Ireland's King (the Britons sworn enemy). As is to be expected, they fall in love. Unfortunately, as fortune never seems to favor young lovers in times such as these, Isolde's hand is to be joined to Lord Marke, a union which is meant to create an alliance between the warring factions.

I spoke with a friend of mine who is far more literate than I, and he was quite familiar with the earliest legends of these characters. He saw the film and enjoyed it a great deal, with one main exception. That of the fact that for as close to the original stories as it stuck, as is often the way in Hollywood, the ending is much, much different. So when I received the DVD, I was fortunate in not knowing how the original stories ended and I was able to enjoy it, with only a few different nit picks.

This brings me back to the casting of James Franco as Tristan. Franco is still fairly new to the acting game, and was first brought to my attention as the brooding loser Daniel Desario in TV's Freaks' and Geeks (a series that, by the way, should have lasted more than half a season). After that, he made some small waves as James Dean in a TV biopic, then made a huge splash as Harry Osborn in Spider-man. Franco is a pretty good actor and there is no doubt that he has a solid future ahead of him, but he really seemed out of his element in this film. Not so much that it ruins the film in any way, but enough to bring it down occasionally in certain sequences.

On the other hand, he and Sophia Myles (who plays Isolde) have a terrific chemistry together. Myles is a very strong actress, and she brings a lot of strength to a role
that might have been overshadowed by a stronger male lead. But what really sells the film is the immensely powerful performance by Rufus Sewell as Lord Marke. Sewell has always been able to demonstrate a depth to his roles, which is only enhanced by the amazing focus he exhibits. With his eyes alone, he is able to speak volumes, where a lesser actor needs several pages of monologue.

I was also impressed by the screenplay, which chose to include a number of skirmishes, but again, not so many as to overpower the plotting In Tristane & Isolde, dialogue is king. Even the cinematography, lush as it might be, takes a backseat to the words, once again proving a good movie is more than just the sum of its parts. If you have a bad script, you have a bad movie, it doesn't matter how much you sugar coat it with special effects, action sequences and nice pictures.

Fox released the DVD of Tristan & Isolde last week and amongst the extra features you'll find two separate commentaries. The first, by executive producer Jim Lemley and co-producer Anne Lai, is a fairly straightforward commentary in terms of how the film came together. The better of the commentaries is the second, by screenwriter Dean Georgaris. As the writer, he is more in tune with the characters and what makes them tick. He is very candid with his comments, both in terms of what works as well as what he thought didn't.

There is also a fairly in depth 'making of…' featurette which offers quite a bit if information on how difficult a film it was to shoot, as well as some extensive image galleries focusing on some of the production and costume design. The one extra feature that I should have skipped comes in the form of two different versions of music videos for the song 'We Belong Together' by Gavin DeGraw. The song, which thankfully wasn't directly used in the movie, is rather bland and the videos offer the usual mix of movie clips and shots of the singer.

In spite of some of the nitpicks I have about the film, most notably Franco's performance, Tristan & Isolde is still a better than average 'historical love story epic.' Director Kevin Reynolds, whom I think was horribly underrated in his work on Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (and don’t get me started on how Kevin Costner screwed up that film and how the original actor signed - Kevin Kline - would have made it work better), and shows here that when he is in control of a project, he can turn out a quality motion picture.

Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell
Extras: Audio Commentary by Executive Producer Jim Lemley and Co-Producer Anne Lai, Audio Commentary by Screenwriter Dean Georgaris, The Making of Tristan & Isolde, Image Galleries, Music Video - "We Belong Together" by Gavin DeGraw
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), DTS 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 4/25/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (For Intense Battle Sequences and some Sexuality)
Website: http://www.TristanandIsoldedvd.com

We'll give Tristan & Isolde a B.