A World of Imagination
MirrorMask Paints a Dream
Dreams, like art, are subjective. As such, they often hold more truth about the artist than the observer. While many films have tried to portray the dreamscape, the surreal world of MirrorMask has combined the subjective nature of dreams and art, creating a world of haunting images and impossible landscapes. Heavily influenced by the artwork of Dave McKean, MirrorMask offers a setting for a fairy tale story about a young artist, her artwork, and a quest to uncover the truth about who she wants to be.
Written by: Neil Gaiman
Starring: Stephanie Leonidas, Gina McKee, Rob Brydon, and Jason Barry
Rated
(for
some mild thematic elements and scary images)Running time: 101 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.
The story of MirrorMask is quite simple, like any good fairy tale. It's the story of a loss of innocence, of growing up, and of making choices. Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) is the daughter of circus people. She has grown up in her family's vagabond existence and -- despite what many children dream -- the circus is not what it's cracked up to be. She tires of it, and wishes for a "normal" life.
During a fight with her mother (Gina McKee), Helena wishes her dead. As often happens in these cautionary tales, her wish nearly comes true. Her mother collapses and is taken to the hospital. While her mother prepares for surgery, Helena finds herself regretting the awful things she has said. That night, she enters a strange world woven from the abstract drawings with which she has wallpapered her room.
The world she enters is a dual city, one half light and one half dark. But things are out of balance and darkness is encroaching on the light. The Queen of Light (McKee again) has fallen under a spell and sleeps. The city searches for a fabled "charm" that was stolen, one which will bring the Queen back to life. Helena undertakes the quest with her newfound friend Valentine (Jason Barry) keeping her company. Along the way, she discovers an array of strange creatures, fascinating vistas, and an ultimate confrontation with the Queen of Shadows (McKee, once again).
With masks playing such a prominent role in the film, it goes without saying that the story plays with the subject of identity. Helena is constantly questioning who she is, what she is doing, and whether or not she is asleep. Her mother (in the real world) is portrayed as a queen of both light and shadow in the dream world. Her companion, Valentine, always wears a mask and finds the idea of living without one revolting. More importantly, it is ultimately a mask (the titular "mirrormask") that Helena must find to make her desires real and restore balance to the world.
Fans of Neil Gaiman need no introduction to his work. His writing in comic books, novels, and short stories, has created fantasy worlds rich with interesting characters and amazing histories. In the past, he has often collaborated with McKean, who did artwork for Gaiman's Black Orchid and Sandman comics. Bringing these two talents together for a film is a fan's dream come true. The simple, yet rich, storytelling that Gaiman provides is colored and made even more vivid by McKean's artistic style. The film is a visual feast, with the art direction under the watchful eye of McKean. Fans of McKean's work will see his fingerprint on every scene. The film is like watching one of his paintings come to life.
The creatures and various special effects are the magic of the Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Fans of the genre will undoubtedly make comparisons between this film and Labyrinth (an earlier Henson production). Both involve a girl making a wish and then retreating to a fantasy world to undertake a quest and right her wrong. Both are filled with strange creatures, dark villains, and require the girl to undergo a transformation to complete her quest. The major difference between the two is that MirrorMask is more mature. Maybe it is the difference between the decades. Labyrinth, produced 20 years ago, was made for a different audience. Undoubtedly, McKean's art direction is partially responsible for the darker tone of this film. But there is also a sense of advancement in MirrorMask, as if this film was envisioned through more experienced eyes.
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