In a hospital in '20's Los Angeles, an injured actor (Lee Pace) begins to tell a story to a young girl with a broken arm (Catinca Untaru). As his story unfolds, the muted sepia tones of the hospital world contrast with the voluptuous, exotic visual feast of his tale - a movie within a movie. The denizens of the hospital, every-day people, become colorful heroes in the imagined world.
And what a world! Director/writer Tarsem Singh ("The Cell"), reportedly used only actual locations around the world for his action adventure, with no CGI. The color and drama and child-like view of the tale have a poetic reality, while the realistic grim tragedy lurking in the patients' lives in the hospital slowly becomes apparent.
The action scenes of the fable are ravishing and arresting, the locations stunning, the costumes iconic. But that world slowly becomes more real as we get to know the characters, and in the end, we are as caught up in that world as the young Alexandria. And further, we realize, as Alexandria does not, that Roy Walker has a hidden motive behind his storytelling. In the end, Alexandria enters the world of the heroes to become a hero herself, and Roy must decide whether he can find the courage to live in reality.
Beyond the visual riches, of course, there must be performances. And Lee Pace and the amazing Catinca Untaru do deliver. Tarsem Singh has given us a beautiful and accomplished film, wonderfully composed and spectacularly realized.
Rated R. 117 minutes. Tarsem Singh - Director / Writer (screenplay) / Producer, Dan Gilroy - Writer (screenplay), Nico Soultanakis - Writer (screenplay), Valery Petrov¹ - Writer (1981 screenplay Yo Ho Ho), Colin Watkinson - Cinematographer, Krishna Levy - Composer, Ged Clarke - Production Designer, Robert Duffy - Editor.
Principal actors: Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Lee Pace, Julian Bleach, Leo Bill, Marcus Wesley.
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