Broken Frontier

The teenage years can be a difficult time. For Helena Campbell, this stage brings the challenges of growing up, defining her identity, taking responsibility, and of course, thwarting the scheme of her evil anti-self from another world. And you thought hormones were bad.

When MirrorMask was first announced, it brought with it nine words that would give any fantasy fan severe heart palpitations: Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, and the Jim Henson Company. Combining the mind of a popular fantasy author with the unique vision of a brilliant graphic artist and the imaginative studio that produced films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, such a movie was bound to be pure magic. With the result now reaching theatres, I can assure you it most certainly is.

The film opens with the unusual rebellion of Helena (Stephanie Leonidas in an equally strong and vulnerable performance). This circus girl desires to run away and join real life. She feels constrained by life in her father’s circus, a fading dream held together by little more than “charm and peanuts.” When her mother falls ill and the circus finds itself in dire financial straits, real life comes calling in ways Helena did not expect or want. The distressed girl enters a fitful sleep and finds herself in a bizarre reality divided into realms of light and darkness. Much of this world reflects the drawings that line the walls of her bedroom. Here, a sleeping Queen of Light (Gina McKee) lies in a death-like state, a terrifying Queen of Shadows seeks a lost daughter, and the key to it all is a charm called the MirrorMask that somehow connects this world to Helena’s.

On the surface, MirrorMask is perhaps not Gaiman’s most innovative story. There are strong allusions to and elements of many other fantasy tales, from Alice in Wonderland (young girl in an unsettling dream world) to The NeverEnding Story (a formless shadow seeks to devour the mystic realm). But while the trappings are familiar, Gaiman, as ever, succeeds at highlighting the relevance of fantasy and myth to his characters’ real world journeys. Helena’s adventure mirrors her struggle with her own changing sense of self and unresolved issues with a mother that could slip away at any moment. Windows give her glimpses of her dark twin (the princess of the shadow-land) wreaking havoc in her place. This Other that is her yet not her is like a vision of the ultimate path of her rebellious streak, a spiteful young woman embracing flashy clothes, cigarettes, swarthy boyfriends - anything to torment Helena’s family. I imagine that any parent of a teenager is well acquainted with the dichotomy of the good child and the apparent monster that can swap places at the slightest provocation.

Also elevating the story is a wonderful mixture of eeriness and humor. A sense of danger and terror fills the dream realm, as in any good nightmare, but many moments are as ludicrous as they are frightening. A creepy old woman keeps dozens of hungry sphinxes in her home. A slow, ponderous conversation with two stone giants offers the choice of “polite conversation or death.” And you’ll never believe the familiar song performed by several dancing automatons. Much of the humor in the film is also provided by Helena’s clown-like helper, Valentine (Jason Barry). The character resembles an escaped Commedia dell’arte street performer and his self-centered comic dialogue helps to lighten the mood of many scenes.

As enjoyable as the metaphors and humor of Gaiman’s script are, the true wonder of MirrorMask comes from the visual splendor of Dave McKean’s design and direction. If you’ve never seen McKean’s art, it’s difficult for any description to do it justice. Abstract shapes and creatures flit across the screen like the tangible delusions of a madman. Everyday objects are recast in twisted or surprising ways. Distorted faces are cloaked in masks that reflect their inner selves rather than disguise them. Sprawling landscapes of dream-like earth-tones and grays fill the screen and tamper with our sense of perspective. All of this is brought to incredible life by the CGI effects of the Henson studio. In all honesty, I was a bit disappointed that there were no puppets or animatronics in the film, given the specialties of the effects team. If there were, they were assimilated into the overall design unobtrusively. In any case, the movie attains a distinct and endlessly inventive look that can take an audience’s breath away.

With so many creative minds at work, it’s little wonder this is one of the more impressive fantasy films of recent years. MirrorMask is both a visual feast and a thoughtful examination of the teenage mind and the power of myth.