The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Gabriel Byrne, Gerard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons... With star talent like this, you want "The Man in the Iron Mask" to be exceptional. It may be good, but it does disappoint on some levels. This is mainly due to the script by Producer/Director/Writer Randall Wallace, the scripter who wrote "Braveheart" making his debut behind the camera here. Maybe Wallace had too much to think about to get emotionally involved with the characters here. We do not. We don't communicate emotionally with these characters. King Louis is evil but no reasoning or justification is given for this. Also, the claustrophobic horror of being in the iron mask is not made concentrated for us. We should wince when it is put on the title character. Wallace also barely makes 17th century France look right. The opulence of the King's home is not juxtaposed well against the squaller of the peasant's life.

The 4 Musketeers, Porthos, Athos and the others are fun but there is not enough "swashbuckling" going on here. The swordplay seems toned down, in fact blood is only shown once briefly in the film. The heroics here seem staged and phony. At least the characters are fun to be around. There is a scene early in the film with Irons and Depardieu which uses a fart joke and we think the film is going to be pretty stupid. But the characters rise above this and make the 4 Musketeers pretty solid. Depardieu has some humorous scenes where his backside is exposed; Irons and Byrne get to show some dimensions to their characters and Malkovich, as always, is awesome. His scenes with DiCaprio really stand out. Their emotional climax is quite touching.

But what is most odd about the film is the accents. With American, English and French actors in the cast, Wallace opts to allow everyone to speak in their natural accents. It is odd that DiCaprio, who has been described as an actor who "wants to wear a hump" (meaning he wants to play serious roles), didn't insist on using a French accent. Oddly, as well, this lack of verisimilitude is only distracting for a bit at the beginning, when Irons and Depardieu are speaking and the contrast in the accents is so noticeable. After a while, however, you don't even notice it.

Even without a hump or an accent, DiCaprio, for his part, is quite good. The script fails him on many levels yet he still manages to come across quite well. He makes what could be horrible dialogue from Wallace sparkle. His evil King, even without proper development of his background, can be quite bone-chilling. His arrogance and egotism is compelling and maddening, as it should be.

Overall, however, "The Man in the Iron Mask," leaves some things to be desired. This isn't flashy, romantic or humorous enough to entertain teens nor is it dramatic or intense enough to captivate adults. It's better than average, but not by much.

Note:

With Anne Parillaud as Queen Anne. Judith Godreche as Christine and Hugh Laurie and David Lowe as the King's advisors.

Based on the novel by Alexander Dumas. Music by Nick Glennie-Smith. Production Design by Anthony Pratt. Costumes by James Acheson. Co-produced by Alan Ladd, Jr.

The Nepotism factor: Andrew Wallace as a Peasant Boy.

Filmed in France.

Made April to June in 1997 with a 35 million dollar budget. The film opened against DiCaprio's other hot property of the time, "Titanic" and did fair at the box office, but not as well as "Titanic" did, of course.

The story, which is fictional, has been filmed at least 6 times including another 1998 version with Nick Richert in the title role and directed by William Richert (talk about nepotism). Also made in 1929, 1939, 1962, 1976 (for TV) and 1979 (as "The Fifth Musketeer.")

Review written in 1998

Report Card

Script: C

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: B

Special Effects\Make Up: B

Music: C

Final Grade: B