Monday, March 16, 1998
Man In The Iron Mask star Gabriel Byrne decries our "cynical age"
By BRUCE KIRKLAND
Toronto Sun
One for all, all for one: The clarion call of the famed Musketeers rings through
The Man In The Iron Mask with a fervor that suggests you're supposed to believe
in it.
"You are," says Gabriel Byrne, the Irishman who plays the brooding d'- Artagnan, a long-suffering, Hamlet-like figure in this historical romp about the reign of Louis XIV, the 17th century Sun King of France.
"It is a cynical age," muses Byrne in a telephone interview from New York. He is talking about the 1990s, not the 1660s, when the movie's myth-making story is set. "It's not fashionable to wear your heart on your sleeve. It's not regarded as hip or cool for people today. Spiritual qualities are not supposed to be discussed openly, certainly not in movies."
But The Man In The Iron Mask, written, directed and produced by Randall Wallace, who penned the script for Mel Gibson's Braveheart, explores human issues with passion, says Byrne. That is what attracted him to the role.
"He (Wallace) is not ashamed of showing elements such as loyalty and friendship and love, as he did in Braveheart. It touches the same chord."
In that sense, The Man In The Iron Mask is an old-fashioned Hollywood movie, like an Errol Flynn swashbuckler from the golden era, says Byrne. "I had the feeling that, if you took the color out, it could be a movie made in the '40s."
The Man In The Iron Mask is taking a beating from film critics, especially over the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio in the dual role of Louis and his fictional twin brother, the title character who becomes involved in an elaborate plan to switch him with his evil brother on the throne. But reviews are glowing for Byrne and fellow Musketeers Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich.
"Chemistry is a totally unpredictable thing," says Byrne of the team of Musketeers. "The four of us just worked perfectly together. Like the chemistry between a leading man and a leading lady, it's not anything you can ever depend on. It happens beyond your control. But I had admired every single one of these actors for a long time. It's one of the best ensembles I've ever been in, like in The Usual Suspects."
It is the interaction of the Musketeers that allows Wallace to deal with spiritual issues, even within an action film that takes off from its roots in the Alexandre Dumas novel and jangles with sex, sin and swordplay, says Byrne.
"Being occupied with what is hip or cool or a trend is a kind of cowardice," says Wallace, also on the phone from New York. "It is (done) out of fear. It is bold and brave to embrace what is emotional."
There are risks, Wallace says. "You leave yourself open to ridicule." So filmmakers need strong actors willing to embrace these emotions, he says.
"Gabriel Byrne, he was not afraid to show his heart." Byrne's character sacrifices for the good of others in The Man In The Iron Mask. This is true nobility, says Wallace, "I pity people who don't know that."