Thoughts on The Man in the Iron Mask

 

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*Louis (Leonardo DiCaprio) is called out by Christine (Judith Godrèche), who was coerced into his bed* 

"I have sinned against love and God for the sake of your mercy, which you would not have given without my sin. I will burn in hell. So will you."

"No, no, no. No, my love. You will burn in hell. I will not, for I am king, ordained by God!"

DiCaprio putting just enough emphasis on "by God" really makes that exchange. It's like when kids try to establish dominance. "Oh yeah? Well, God says I can and God likes me, so there!" The beauty is that Louis XIV is only king of the mountain (or in this case, France) because Aramis (Jeremy Irons) had bad playground monitoring skills, so to speak. Before I get off this child's play tangent, I'll mention that while he would have been too young to play 22-year-old Louis and his imprisoned twin, Philippe, or inspire as much fan attention, Jonathan Taylor Thomas had already played a big for his britches young royal opposite Irons. In some ways, I feel that Leonardo walked in Mask so that in Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan could run.

*After an earlier hookup that Louis makes clear is a one-nighter, he talks with D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne)*

"You're constantly surrounded by beautiful women. Do you love any of them?"

"Quite frequently, actually."

"... DiCaprio invests the line with arrogance, a smug bravura, everything but lust. He reminds me of Michael Jackson in the Thriller days, doing his squinty-eyed impersonation of street-smart erotic danger. On some level, you don't buy it, but in each case the performer's impersonation of power-tripping virility has a raw theatrical zest that holds you even more than a conventional macho star might."

-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

My memories of Leomania aren't vivid. I remember Titanic making a lot of money, I remember DiCaprio on the cover of magazines that I'd only occasionally look through. I was just a little too young for Bop, et. al, not to mention the fact that I already had a TV Guide subscription and to be honest, I liked feeling like I was apart from all the frivolity. No, my clearest memories of young DiCaprio was that he didn't receive an Oscar nomination for Titanic, he didn't attend the 1998 ceremony (at the time I thought he was a sore loser) and his then-tendency to headline one or two movies every other year. Despite my detachment, Leo immediately came to mind when I decided this year's Thoughts On would be about 1998's stars as much as its movies.

"DiCaprio, Charismatic Star, Balks at the Idol Image," was the headline of Bernard Weinraub's New York Times article prior to Mask's release. It declared Leonardo to be "the biggest star to have emerged in years." Sherry Lansing at Paramount said DiCaprio's talent was being recognized just as much as his looks, which also got much attention. Weinraub: "The blond 23-year-old actor, whose androgynous good looks make him seem almost like a teenager (which is part of his appeal to young girls) ..." The article, lacking any exclusive comments from the "almost reclusive and declines most interviews" Leonardo, acknowledged that he was hardly an out-of-nowhere success, having spent years as a "sought-after actor in Hollywood." 

Being sought after can be lucrative. DiCaprio's Titanic salary was reportedly $2.5 million, followed by $6 million for Mask and now $20 million for a studio film, placing Leo on the level of Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford. Alas, life's not a beach. DiCaprio's protests of being a serious actor instead of a heartthrob were included. Weinraub also briefly observed Leo's potential professional rivals. Matthew McConaughey, promoted by Vanity Fair "as the next Paul Newman," had starred in "a series of dissapointing films." Matt Damon, meanwhile, was in ascendance. Not mentioned was that Matt was the running for two Oscars at the time. Conspicuously absent from the article was Brad Pitt. Make of that what you will. Anyway, no one in 1998 was counting out Leonardo. Not while he had it.

"What you have in Leo is a gigantic star -- and remember, he's a star worldwide -- who's somehow able to open himself up on screen and let you in emotionally. You feel what his character in Titanic feels. The same with Romeo. It's not just a question of good looks; there are plenty of good-looking guys out there. On the screen he's emotionally accessible. How many actors are like that?"

-- Tom Rothman, 20th Century Fox

MGM, which released Mask not long after Tomorrow Never Dies became an also-ran against Titanic, likely figured that it had just obtained a license to print money. Mask had 1998's second-highest opening weekend to date, behind The Wedding Singer, as well as decent legs at the box office, but I imagine there were at least some confused-to-dissapointed young moviegoers. "I came to see a movie with Leo, not these four old guys. Why's the Leo who dresses nice so mean? ... Oh, wait a minute, I almost saw his butt!" I'm stereotyping the audience, yes, but it's hard not to watch the 132-minute Mask and not imagine a shorter cut now favoring Louis and Philippe over D'Artagnan, Aramis, Athos (John Malkovich) and Porthos (Gérard Depardieu).

Randall Wallace, followed up Braveheart and added director to his titles with Mask, loosely adapted from Alexander Dumas' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later. I have only a passing familiarity with the musketeers, so the liberties in Wallace's screenplay don't bother me. I also felt that the movie's storyline built to a reasonably satisfying conclusion that for the most part did right by each of Wallace's five leading men.

D'Artagnan is Louis and Philippe's biological father, a fact that retroactively elevates Byrne's scenes opposite DiCaprio as Louis and/or Anne Parrilaud as Queen Anne, the boys' mother. Bryne's last moments wth Leo as Phillipe are also good, although the non-pampered youth shares better scenes with Athos and Christine. All three have had their lives ruined due to Louis. Athos lost his son, Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard), who died in battle after being sent away for Louis could swoop in on Christine. The young lovers are increasingly made aware of Louis' manipulations, which Athos and D'Artagnan were aware of from the start. Then, of course, there's Philippe, who had lived his life in exile (thanks to Louis XIII's "playground monitoring") and didn't even know he was royalty, being imprisoned in an iron mask so that he'll have no chance to stake a claim to the throne. The mask was placed on Philippe by Aramis, who was following Louis XIV's orders. To his credit, Aramis came up with the plan to swap Louis for Philippe. Porthos is mostly there to regain his mojo.

Athos: "What is Porthos doing?"

Aramis: "Walking into the barn naked, or so it would seem."

1998 Teenybopper: "That's not funny, movie! I wanted Leo's butt, not the fat French dude!"

Mask's appeal is less about Leo's double act and more about the thrill of middle-aged heroes conquering their angst by returning to battle. Cliched? Oh, definitely. Still, my biggest thrill came when D'Artagnan and company (including Philippe, masked again) dared to charge toward Louis' forces. "Magnificent valour," indeed! Naturally, Andre (Edward Atterton), et. al, are so impressed that they deliberately opt not to kill the easy targets. To be as crass as Porthos, I'll mention that Mask was released just before Viagra went on the market. Talk about a missed tie-in opportunity! "All for one and one for all/take our pill and let 'em fall."

I'm making Byrne and Malkovich share top honors, since they have the most to work with. D'Artagnan and Athos are not just devoted fathers, they also spend more of the movie at odds. Again, cliched but effective. In second place are DiCaprio and DiCaprio. Not surprisingly, Louis is a more interesting character than Philippe, although Leonardo does seem to try with both of them. I especially liked the moment when Phillipe sees an unobstructed full moon for the first time in years. Irons and Depardieu are unmistakably in third place (although they still fare better than Parrilaud and Godrèche). I liked Aramis better than Porthos, whose comic relief interludes are grating. That said, it's clear both characters are largely there because no one would want to see a movie featuring "The Two Musketeers."

Mask is better than it has any right to be. While I mentioned that it's easy to imagine a more commercial version of the finished movie, I'm glad that one doesn't exist. I'm especially glad that it doesn't feel like four established actors are around merely to pick up their checks for providing gravitas alongside the hot guy.

"Yes, Raoul is my reason for being here, but not in the way you think. Once I, once all of us believed in spending our lives in the service of something greater than ourselves. Aramis had his faith, Porthos his lust for life, D'Artagnan his devotion, and I had Raoul. But we all had a common dream: That one day, we would finally be able to serve a king worthy of the throne. It is what we dreamt, what we bled for, and what we have spent a lifetime waiting to see. I taught Raoul to believe in this dream ... and now my son is dead. So I am here to find out if his life was in vain, and the only one who can answer that question is you."

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:
-- "No, no. Do not underestimate the Dutch."
-- Box Office: Grossing nearly $57 million domestically on a $35 million budget, this opened at No. 2. Only $307,365 kept Mask from surpassing Titanic for the No. 1 spot. Mask went on to stay in the top 10 for four weekends, which corresponds with my memories of 1998. I recall Titanic fatigue and backlash becoming prominent around April, definitely after the Oscars and James Cameron declaring "I'm king of the world!" Anyway, Mask came in at No. 37 for the year.

-- Critic's Corner, the movie: "Amusingly ludicrous ... often trades yesterday's inspiration (Dumas) for today's (Simpson-Bruckheimer)," Janet Maslin wrote. Kenneth Turan: "There's everything but a consistent style." In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked Mask at No. 28 out of DiCaprio's 29 movies to date. Critters 3 came in last and Titanic came in first. "What inspired revelation is to be gleaned from a movie in which (the four older men) look more like Spinal Tap than Alexande Dumas' musketeers?" Desson Howe asked in 1998.

-- Critic's Corner, Leonardo: He posessed "a physical beauty that reduces the camera to one more worshipful fan," according to Maslin. Janet also was impressed that Louis and Philippe's confrontation didn't become "a pinnacle of kitsch," saying "the star keeps it bizzarely riveting." Rita Kempley felt DiCaprio was better at playing Philippe rather than Louis. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "... DiCaprio has been dreaming up ways to debunk himself as a hunk. (Mask) provides a hell of a start." Owen Gleiberman praised and insulted in equal measure. "The shockingly androgynous DiCaprio looks barely old enough to be playing anyone with hormones, but he's a fluid and instinctive actor, with the face of a mischievous angel." 

-- Owen also unintentionally foretold the future, saying that Phillipe's role in the climax was like "some damaged 17th century superhero called Masked Boy." It's inevitable that Leonardo will someday do a superhero movie, right? I'd be curious to see his take on Jor-El, or just Marlon Brando playing Jor-El.

-- Awards Watch: The Razzies went with the obvious joke, nominating and awarding Leonardo as Louis and Philippe for Worst Screen Couple. Malkovich received a Stinkers nod for Worst Supporting Actor, losing to Daniel Baldwin in Vampires.

-- Hey, It's ...!: Hugh Laurie.

-- Philippe finally taking the throne, and during a masquerade no less, is pretty awesome. "(after taking it in, to partygoers) Continue ..."

-- Next: Primary Colors. On deck: Wild Things.