A 15 year old girl named Helena Campbell (engagingly played by
Stephanie Leonidas) both lives and works in a traveling circus that’s being run
by her parents. Yet while most kids would love the life that Helena leads, she
would rather do anything but work in a circus. Getting into a heated argument
with her mother just before a show, Helena angrily says that she would actually
like to run away from the circus to a real life. Well, real life comes colliding
with Helena faster than she expects when her mother is taken seriously ill to
the point where she needs to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. This
unexpected turn of events throws the future of the circus--which survived day to
day, at best--into question as Helena’s mom is scheduled for an operation to
find out the cause of her illness.
Helena goes to sleep during this dire time and finds herself in a strange
fantasy land where a devastating conflict is brewing between the lands of light
and darkness. Seeking to restore the balance between these conflicting forces--as
well as to return home--Helena teams up with Valentine (Jason Barry), a
masked denizen of this magical dream world in order to find a special charm,
known as the Mirrormask, that will restore the balance of power between the two
worlds. Written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Dave McKean, Mirrormask feels
like a Labyrinth for the twenty first century, and that’s not such a bad thing.
Gaiman, who has the well-earned reputation of being a poet laureate of all
things fantastic, has fashioned a stylish fantasy with substance; an allegory
about how sometimes we should not take what we have for granted.
Artist Dave McKean has imaginatively created a stark magical landscape that
looks like a cross between the paintings of Picasso and Salvatore Dali, into
which the characters interact. Jason Barry is memorable as the hustler/showman
Valentine, while actress Gina McKee superbly portrays her roles as Helena’s
mother and the villainous Queen of Dark (she also plays the Queen Of Light, but
that part calls for her to be sleeping for most of the film's running time). Stephanie Leonidas, a remarkable
young actress, easily carries the weight of the film on her shoulders, creating
a sympathetic charcter in Helena. The
Special Features of the DVD consists of a commentary with Director McKean and
writer Gaiman, and a series of "making of" shorts which can be watched
together as a longer documentary, as well as samples of the posters and book
cover art. If you're looking
for a truly imaginative fantasy film with stunning visuals, then look no further
than Mirrormask.
--SF
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