Review

Review Date: 17-October-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

MirrorMask (2005)

You know how when someone describes a dream you can never appreciate it fully? Maybe you can comprehend the sequence of events or spot a bit of transcendence in the teller's eye, but no matter how rich the detail it has no meaning for you beyond curiosity. This experience is akin to watching "MirrorMask." This fantastical vision from writer Neil Gaiman and director Dave McKean is unusual and diverting and somewhat imbued with meaning, but it never gets under your skin.

What makes "MirrorMask" unique is its combination of live actors with settings that are mostly imagined. The real strong point, however, is the wonderful performance of Stephanie Leonidas as Helena, the teenage daughter of modern-day circus performers. At the beginning of the story, Helena argues with her mother (Gina McKee) in typical rebellious fashion, chafing against the responsibilities placed upon her. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Helena's resentment is replaced by guilt and the reluctant understanding that she must grow up to be a woman in her mother's stead, perhaps a lot sooner than expected. Leonidas ably embodies the fear of a child faced with reality and the boldness of a young adult about to take a step forward. Her discoveries are those which everybody makes at some point, though probably in a less artistic way.

Helena's lessons are learned through a trippy quest in which the pictures that adorn her bedroom walls vividly come to life. One night, she wakes from a deep sleep (or does she?) to find herself in a bizarre world where books fly, cats have human faces, and everybody wears a mask. As in all mythic journeys, she meets a stranger (Jason Barry) who offers assistance but still forces her to think for herself. This person is a jester named Valentine, and he matures during Helena's adventure as much as she. Together, they take up the hunt for the MirrorMask, an enchanted device which will release a beloved queen from eternal slumber and prevent her nemesis from engulfing the world in shadow. Of course, Helena's part in this affair is not accidental, for her own fate is tied up in the MirrorMask and her mother's life seems to hang on the completion of her task.

Although I have never seen anything like this film, only a few of its images impressed me (e.g., the prodigious floating giants who point Helena in the right direction). Overall, the primal themes with which the heroine wrestles — love, sacrifice, growing up — most recommend it, but I feel they have been illustrated in more appreciable ways than this.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.