Tristan and Isolde
Review by: Natalie
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Tristan and Isolde starts of in Britain, in the Early Middle Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century. British kingdoms are in the process of uniting under Lord Marke to become stronger against attacks by the Irish King Donnchadh.
Lord Marke’s best knight, Tristan of Aerygone, played by Spiderman’s James Franco is apparently killed in combat during a battle aginst Morholt, leader of Donnchadh’s army and to whom Princess Isolde, played by Sophia Myles has been promised in marriage.
Tristan’s body is put out to sea on a funeral boat which washes up the shores of Ireland, with Tristan still alive. He is discovered by Isolde and her maid Bragnae who secretly nurse him back to health. Tristan and Isolde eventually fall in love but Isolde does not disclose her real name. When Tristan’s sword is discovered, Tristan is forced to flee back to Britain.
Still plotting to defeat Britain, Isolde’s father, Donnchadh, proposes a peace treaty, where Isolde, his daughter, is to be married to the winner of the tournament. Tristan participates to win a wife for his uncle, Lord Marke. He wins, but is shocked that Isolde is the ‘prize’. She is consequently betrothed to Lord Marke.
Lord Marke is kind and loving to Isolde, but she is still deeply in love with Tristan. Tristan is tortured by their situation and the two of them begin an affair secretly. The affair is discovered by Lord Marke’s rivals, who use it to their advantage to weaken his position and making it easier for them to invade Britain.
SPOILER ALERT
Britain is invaded just when Tristan and Isolde are about to run off together. Tristan chooses to stay and battle with Donnchadh’s army. However, he is mortally wounded and eventually dies in Isolde’s arms.
Although Lord Marke is furious with both Tristan and Isolde, but after Isolde explains about Ireland, he becomes understanding of their situation and offers Tristan and Isolde the choice to run off together.
I felt that this movie was well-done, no, not good enough for the Oscars, but it had very good entertainment value. It keeps you on your toes from start to finish, with romance, betrayal, duty, honour woven into it. The movie moves well, and isn’t boring at the start, unlike most Middle Ages films (think King Arthur).
I think the two leads delivered their performances well. James Franco, after supporting roles in Spider-Man, is finally able to take on a lead role and does well in it. You can feel his pain and mixture of emotions in some of the more emotional scenes. Sophia Myles wasn’t bad, but she was a little stiff at certain points, especially in scenes not involving Tristan.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this movie to all those romance lovers. The action and romance is well balanced out and the acting isn’t terrible. A good film!