MirrorMask

Checked out MirrorMask last Thursday, the latest big-screen offering from Jim Henson Studios, created by the graphic novel demigods Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman. The film has been given a pathetically limited release in Australia (only shown in 1 theatre each in Melbourne and Sydney)but from what I've heard, the film was given the go-ahead not because it was box-office smash material, but because it would generate long-term video/DVD sales in the same vein as Labyrinth and Dark Crystal.

What can I say? - I was utterly blown away and left the theatre in a state of weary elation, my geeky artistic senses completely overloaded by the sumptuous visual masterpiece I had just been presented with. But I also felt a sense of emotional alienation as if I had been shut out of Eden and had to make do with staring in through the gates...

Where the film truly succeeds is in fixing the haunting other-worldly undercurrent of Gaiman/McKean's work onto the big screen...ah if only they had that kind of budget for Neverwhere! While heavily reliant on CGI, the scenes and creatures are infused with a truly eerie "lived-in" look that can be quite disturbing. I'll never listen to "Close to you" in the same way again. Make no mistake, this is a very dark piece of work!

Where the film fails is in lacking a story or characters with any real emotional depth, certainly when compared with the 80s Henson classics that it is supposedly meant to succeed. The rich worlds presented in Dark Crystal and Labyrinth completely engulf the viewer, the world of MirrorMask, while visually stunning, is emotionally detached to both to the viewer and its own inhabitants. If Dark Crystal is walking through a virgin forest with birds and butterflies flitting around you, MirrorMask is gazing at a beautiful aquarium through a pane of cold glass.

While I did enjoy this film, I know that it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I'll certainly grab when it comes out on DVD!