MirrorMask

Sep. 30th, 2005 11:03 pm
muchabstracted: (Default)
[personal profile] muchabstracted


Gorgeous work. I have never before seen a graphic novel on screen. Many wonderful bits, that you will only get from Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman working together on a motion picture.

The screenplay? Was not an allegory.* Which is to say: it had a lot of promise, things that started out well and could have been wonderful and brilliant. But at the base of it, the meaning wasn't there. I -- wish I could have beta'd. Or at least had the opportunity to ask Neil where he put the depth I would like to believe is in there, hidden, somewhere.

*For those of you who were fortunately enough to NOT hear me rant about Labyrinth... Labyrinth is an elaborate allegory, brilliantly (if campily) done. If Labyrinth is not an allegory, it is a fun Muppety adventure quest type thing. I love it either way, but I can only think about it if it's an allegory.

I was in tears within the first five minutes. When it split to the fantastical, I was jointly (a) appropriately disoriented and (b) relieved, in a cowardly way, that they were starting to distance from the emotions.

It was, ultimately, a world that existed independently of Helena's head. She went into an alternate universe, where people happened to look similarly to her, her mother and her father. They were not, as far as I can tell, her personal mental images of her mother or her father. Which is a shame, because there is so much you can do, psychologically, with the image of the mother split into Dark and Light. And the way they split the mother's personality was very well done: the Light Queen was warm and comforting, and listened to Helena. The Dark Queen was not evil or cold, at first: just disappointed, needing Helena to be a certain way (in the context of the movie, it was not an unreasonable request, either) and generally caught in the sort of push-pull "Why don't you act the way I want you to?" scenarios that happen between every parent and child.*

*The Dark mother later became unambiguously evil and cold, which was disappointing.

But it has allegorical elements, and it was potentially allegorical for much of the movie. The moment where it failed as an allegory for me was at the end, when the Dark Queen face appeared in the sky. Helena said, "Stop trying to possess me!" The Dark Queen said, "What, you mean, let you live your own life? Absolutely out of the question." This was late enough in the story that it was basically the last moment, and therefore the appropriate moment, to resolve the two contradictory images of the mother. They could have had the Dark Queen respond in a way that would have made it clear to all and sundry that the Dark Queen was not particularly trying to possess Helena; but that Helena was, rather, having difficulties with her personal idiosyncratic version of separation and individuation.* That Helena did, in fact, have something to learn, other than the factual location and intended use of the MirrorMask. But instead of resolving the conflict with the mother -- rather than resolving the conflict from the Real World, the conflict with which they started the movie -- they maintained and solidified the split images of the mother. They flattened the Dark Queen's character, made her comfortably and incomprehensibly evil, and reduced Helena's quest to the purely exterior one of Stopping Anti-Helena.** And I couldn't regain any sense of depth after that.

*What? Theories of psychology are the ones I've learned most recently. Of course it's going to pop up constantly.

**In case you didn't stay to watch the credits, yes, that is what they call her. Anti-Helena. She's a Shadow figure, dammit! *sulks*

Anyway, if you disagree with me or catch something I'm missing, please comment, I'd love to be proved blind.

I enjoyed it, despite my disappointment with the follow-through. I mean, you still enjoyed Miyasaki's Howl's Moving Castle, right? I would absolutely recommend it: there's the whole gorgeousness aspect to it, some very nice set-up, there's the fun bits they stick in and the many great throw-away lines. Many, many wonderful bits that the ending couldn't ruin. And I rather liked the fact that the male romantic lead had a tendency towards being selfish jerk the ENTIRE time, rather than randomly morphing into a Wonderful Selfless Hero by the end.

ETA: Hmmm. As I have typed and edited myself, it has occurred to me that Neil could have wanted both: that the fantasy world exist independently of Helena's head, that the fantasy world contain certain mental archetypes from her head/life, and that each layer of meaning affect the other. In fact, if I am recalling correctly from what he said about MirrorMask at his reading, he was getting at the interconnectedness of life: how each world affected the other, how the world can fall apart when the proper balance is missing. However, it still feels unsatisfying. It still feels like he brought up a conflict, described it beautifully, and never properly resolved it. On a literary level, I feel like the allegorical level and the alternate/separate universe level are enmeshed; rather than each level being carefully developed with internal consistency, existing as parallel layers of meaning, and interacting in a meaningful way. On a narrative level, Helena's mother is going to get out of the hospital, and within six months, Helena will recommence fighting with her about the circus. Though it is true that Helena will probably never again use the words, "I wish I were the death of you."

Date: 2005-10-01 11:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jennaria.livejournal.com
:sulks: Okay, okay, I'll hold off until I see it.

Date: 2005-10-01 03:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
The movie review I'm reading now says that Terry Gilliam did a version of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. I hadn't ever heard of this before, but I have been instantly possessed with the need to see it.
(deleted comment)

Date: 2005-10-01 05:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Well, it will ruin the movie, and you should see the movie so we can discuss it. It's a sort of sequel to Labyrinth.
(deleted comment)

Date: 2005-10-01 06:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Oh, I knew you would say that. *struggles* Well, okay. I don't feel the need to see it twice (this does not mean I didn't enjoy it, by the way, because I did) but if that's the only way you'll see it...

It's only playing at Kendall, though.

Date: 2005-10-01 05:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kraada.livejournal.com
I haven't read any of the above cut at all, nor have I seen the movie . . .

But I'm considering the movie; perhaps you can put some sort of general "I liked it" "I loved it" "It was worth seeing" etc on the front page? That way those of us who are on the fence can get some input.

Date: 2005-10-01 05:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Well, what's causing you to hesitate?

Date: 2005-10-01 07:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kraada.livejournal.com
I don't much like spending money on movies unless I know I'm going to like the experience.

Or to put it more bluntly: I'm cheap, movies aren't, and seeing them in theaters is rarely three or four times better than seeing them at home. So I need a good reason to go see movies in theaters, especially if I'd be going alone.

Date: 2005-10-01 07:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Hmmm. Well, in my mind, the main difference between in-theatre and at-home is the size of the screen and therefore the visuals. So. When you decide, consider that Dave McKean is the artist for the movie, and that he has the resources of not only computer generated things but also the Creature Shop. The visuals are gorgeous; though you do get a decent sense of this from the trailer, I believe, so if you haven't seen the trailer yet, that might be a good way to decide.

Date: 2005-10-02 01:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kraada.livejournal.com
My problem with trailers these days though is that they tend to include spoiler scenes from the movie. Often these can be very -=bad=- spoiler scenes if one is at all thinking while watching the trailer.

Can I be assured that this does not happen in this case? I do much much better with movies knowing precious little going in.

Date: 2005-10-02 01:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Eep. I don't know. I haven't seen the trailer. *hides*

Well, it's as close as a Dave McKean graphic novel on screen as it is possible to get. Which is pretty close, as it turns out.

Date: 2005-10-01 07:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
I'm totally with you on seeing movies alone; always less fun, even if you can't exactly talk with anyone while you're watching the movie.

Date: 2005-10-03 07:11 am (UTC)
ext_27060: Sumer is icomen in; llude sing cucu! (Default)
From: [identity profile] rymenhild.livejournal.com
I still think the Dark Queen wasn't unambiguously evil in the end-- but we can continue the debate later. :)

Date: 2005-10-03 11:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muchabstracted.livejournal.com
Am looking forward to it!

Date: 2005-10-08 04:22 pm (UTC)
ext_36698: Red-haired woman with flare, fantasy-art style, labeled "Ayelle" (Default)
From: [identity profile] ayelle.livejournal.com
I still have your Nashoba Valley wineglass! Don't let me forget.

Profile

muchabstracted: (Default)
muchabstracted

September 2010

S M T W T F S
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 10th, 2025 03:42 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios