Title: Surprisingly affecting
Product review: This version does not follow the classical Arthurian form of the Tristan and Isolde legend. However, I found the logic of the film to be internally consistent. I enjoyed that Lord Marke was an honorable and kind man that both Tristan and Isolde respect and care for. The three main characters are complex and not caricatures; having Marke be a decent person makes Tristan and Isolde's decisions that much more painful (and truer to life-- love triangles are rarely made up of clearly good and clearly evil people).James Franco's Tristan is subtle and restrained. Some have called his performance wooden-- I suggest that the viewer needs to look more closely at Tristan's expressions. Franco manages to convey pain and regret quietly, without any scenery chewing.Swordfighting and horsemanship are excellent (particularly nice is the final fight in the tournament between Tristan and Wictred). The love scenes are quite tastefully done; never more than bare shoulders or upper back are shown.
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