FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE
This sensuous and gorgeously filmed adaptation of French playwright Pierre
Marivaux’s 1732 comedy strains to be frivolous. Lacking a commanding performance
by Mira Sorvino in the triple role of the Princess, her male alter ego Phocion, and
Phocion’s female alter ego, her portrayals are far too subdued for a farce. She needs
devilish determination for the Princess who, disguised as a male, seduces her rival to
the throne as well as his two protectors, the philosopher Hermocrates (Kingsley) and
his sister Leontine (Shaw), in order to bring peace to the two royal families. When in
drag, Sorvino’s gender is so transparent that you wonder why no one else is smart
enough to notice. Blocked like a play, the characters are often filmed in close
two-shots, dissipating any sexual tension or urgency. Even the use of jump cuts can't
enliven the tedium. Shaw, however, hits all the right notes as the frightened spinster
who blossoms under Phocion’s gaze. She's the only character who seems to be truly
deranged by love.
KT
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