The Mists of Avalon | Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies

The Mists of Avalon | Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies | Legend

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The Mists of Avalon

	The Mists of Avalon Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies Turner Home Ent, 2001 average customer review:based on 280 reviews view larger image
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The King is dead, long live the King, but who will it be? The answer is found on the battlefields and in the mystical and powerful manipulations of fate emanating from the women of the legendary isle of Avalon in this intrigue-filled retelling of the King Arthur/Camelot legend. Starring Julianna Margulies, Anjelica Huston, Joan Allen, Caroline Goodall, Edward Atterton, and Samantha Mathis.

Good movie

Good cast. Could have stayed closer to the book, but all-in-all a good way to spend your time.

Legend

I have always loved the Arthurian legend, this is just another twist. A movie well worth watching, but send the kids to bed.

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a big disappointment after the great book, but OK on its own

To be honest, I did not think that 3 hours could encompass the incredible depth and complexity of Bradley's masterwork. But I got this out of curiosity and because my kids would probably enjoy it. I am sorry to report that this film barely sufficed to hold my interest - I constantly thought back with disappointment to the book I read (and vividly remember from) nearly 20 years ago, which had phenomenal character development and covered every aspect the Arthur myth from a new point of view. Nonetheless, I feel that this film requires a careful review on its own.

The theme of the story is the collision of two religions, one the pagan earth goddess and the other christian monotheism. Morgaine, long portrayed as an evil heathen, is the most sympathetic actor in this version, both a victim of political machination and also a fighter to preserve the old religion. Julianna Margulies is a truly wonderful Morgaine, too beautiful perhaps, but she really gets the character. The problem is that the film if too short to chart her evolution, from acolyte to rebel to leader, all the time recognizing the tragedy as it unfolds so inexorably. The same can be said of Huston, who is a wonderful Viviane (ruthless, loving, desperate, majestic), and Allen as the cold and ambitious Morgause. The only way they could have succeeded would have been to triple the time of the film. The film also succeeds in placing the men on the side - less aware of the forces at play than as men of action. The male actors, all of whom are lesser known than the three female stars, are all very good.

That being said, as it progresses, the film is less and less faithful to the novel, again in part because it has to truncate the plots, shrink back the themes, and eliminate characters. For example, in the book, Merlin is succeeded by a crippled musician who becomes Morgaine's lover for years; he then concludes that the religion is finished, hands over the pagan chalice that is transmogrified into the holy grail in a transcendently sad scene of religious vision, and his punishment is death. That is such a rich episode that you could make an entire film just of that. There is another scene in the book that I recall, in which Mordred and Lancelot duel in a tournament, which exhausts and humiliates the aging Lancelot, signaling a passage that the witnesses instantly recognize. Again, this kind of character development is impossible in the short time available.

In the end, I would recommend this version to those who have not read the book - but only as way to get them to read the book.

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