Don B
02-20-2006, 12:37 AM
Mirror Mask! Glad to see that someone else has seen this movie.
I was in the mood for a movie but did not have one in mind when I went to the video store the other day. I was browsing the shelves and none of the titles did anything for me. It seemed I was either going to leave without a movie or rent something I wasn't really interested in, hoping it wouldn't be bad. Then I saw Mirror Mask and the names Neil Gaiman (writer) and Dave McKean (director) on the cover and problem solved, though I had no idea about the movie.
Mirror Mask is indeed a different movie. Though the plot is not much different than many made for TV movies - young girl (Helena) is unhappy with her life, has a fight with her mother, mother gets very sick, girl feels terrible about the fight, has a dream with many strange adventures, mother gets well, the girl comes to terms with her life and meets a cute guy, and they all live happily ever after. There is a fairy tale aspect to the story. Happily there are none of the cloying tropes associated with made-for-television movies about teenagers. Also, the family owns a circus and Helena is an artist (who draws in a style much like Dave McKean!) so the flavor of the movie is very different from the start. The young actress is very good in the role, as are all the other actors, and the dream sequence is visually fantastic (very Dave McKean) with a nice dose of humor. But it is not Lord of the Rings or Narnia or even Harry Potter and doesn't try to be. I also liked the movie and wonder what Neil and Dave would do if given a proper budget.