# Man in the Iron Mask, The (1998)

### reviewed by
Nathaniel R. Atcheson

    The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Director: Randall Wallace Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche Screenplay: Randall Wallace Producers: Randall Wallace, Russ Smith Runtime: 130 min. US Distribution: MGM Rated PG-13: Violence, sex

By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)

I've never been a huge fan of frenetic adventure films featuring soups of various European-accented actors dressed up in flashy, cumbersome clothes while brandishing those thin fencing-type swords with the jewel-covered handles. On that note, I'd say that my exposure to the genre is rather limited: I've seen only portions of the numerous films about the Three Musketeers, and my knowledge of the books on which these films are based is even more limited.

Randall Wallace's The Man in the Iron Mask, based on the famous Alexander Dumas novel (which is part of a trilogy about the musketeers), is a film that fits securely into the description above. This is not a film of profound depth or thought, and I didn't expect it to be. But I did want it to be significantly more than well-built sets and Leonardo DiCaprio screaming "Wear it....until you die in it!" And while it is technically sound and acceptably light on intrusive continuity problems, Wallace's film is overflowing with multitudes of characters and scenes. The result is a frantic movie that is entertaining, but lacking in focus or anything to stimulate thought.

DiCaprio plays Louis XIV, the tyrannical young king who refuses to award the peasants of France with edible food. He's mostly interested in bedding young women, but on occasion he pretends to care about his country. His personal bodyguard is D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne), a highly-feared general. D'Artagnan was once one of the musketeers. The musketeers--Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich), and Porthos (Gerard Depardieu)--are an aging bunch now, and have settled into less-adventurous lives with the emergence of Louis XIV.

Conflicts arise when Athos' son, Raul (Peter Sarsgaard) is sent off to war because Louis is interested in his fiancée, Christine (Judith Godreche). When Raul is killed, Athos declares Louis as his enemy; therefore D'Artagnan, who was his close friend, is also his enemy. The remaining three musketeers develop a plan to get Louis out of the throne. Aramis knows of a man--whose identity and existence is unknown to most people due to a big iron mask wrapped around his face--who can help. He is the twin brother of Louis, and has been jailed by the King in fear.

The film frequently feels less-than-authentic. Take, for instance, all of the various accents. DiCaprio, once again, plays a period character with a straight American accent. Depardieu seems to be trying to hide his French accent for some strange reason, while Byrne and Irons have slightly lightened their British inflections; even Malkovitch, who can usually get away with it because is voice is so unusual, can't manage to make his lines fit in. The film also allows an occasional anachronism (actually, I'm guessing: a word that rhymes with "sits" that references a lady's bosom just doesn't sound natural in this time period).

The film doesn't even tell us what it's about until about the 45-minute mark. Sure, there's foreshadowing with glimpses of the man in the mask, but the Musketeers' plan almost feels like a subplot because it occurs so late in the film. The main characters seem to be Louis and his counterpart, but the heroes are the musketeers, and their plan is the one we're supposed to root for. I suppose this explains Wallace's attempt to characterize these men, but with the mangled focus, character development scenes tend to intrude on the story, and usually feel pointless. The best example of this has Depardieu (who is not my favorite actor) running around nude; he finds a rope and decides it's an omen suggesting that he hang himself. This scene does elicit laughs, though it still feels forced and out-of-place in the film.

On the whole, I'm disappointed in the performances. Irons and Malkovitch are passable, but not up to their capabilities. DiCaprio is okay, but I wish he'd try and take on an accent one of these days (he does do a good job making us realize which of the brothers he is playing at any given moment, though). Depardieu takes the French machismo element of his personality light years beyond my preference, and is simply annoying to watch. There are no significant women roles, which I found irritating; Godreche is uninteresting because the character is weak and shallow, while Anne Parillaud, who plays Louis' mother, is given little screen time. The best in the film is Byrne, and he is good: he shows charisma and energy rare to his performances.

What The Man in the Iron Mask comes down to is, essentially, mindless entertainment. The sets are great, the costumes professional, the scenes are paced well, and the action sequences are exciting. For a film that seems like it's engineered to appeal to the younger generations, it's not a bad film. But I think most people over the age of twenty are going to want a little more focus and thought put into a story that's been told so many times.

    **1/2 out of ****
    (6/10, C+)

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               Nathaniel R. Atcheson

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