A sequel to his enormously successful The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask is based on a theme which is very popular in contemporary French literature: the existence of a twin brother of King Louis XIV who was held a captive in the Bastille by his own father because he feared that two princes with equal claims to the throne will only destabilize the empire. Further, the unfortunate brother (who had no idea that he was a prince) was put in an iron mask to prevent identification because of his strong resemblance with the King.
Story of The Man in the Iron Mask
King Louis XIV's expansionist policies mean that there is acute food shortage for the poor civilians in Paris leading to widespread mistrust amongst the people against their king. As a result a massive revolution is taking shape in the heart of the "most beautiful city in the world". Matters come to a head when the king starts distributing rotten fruits and vegetables as part of his relief program.
However, instead of trying to solve the problem Louis XIV decides to thwart the rebellion and he is convinced that the best way to do so is by killing his main opposition, The (anonymous) General of the Order on the Jesuits, and he entrusts this task to one of his father's most loyal and brave subjects, Aramis (Jeremy Irons). But there is one problem, Aramis is himself the enigmatic General of the Jesuits.
Seeing no other way out of his predicament Aramis decides to replace King Louis XIV with Philippe (Leonardo DiCaprio), the man in the iron mask. In this seemingly impossible task he seeks the help of his three comrades-in-arms, Athos (who is on a personal vendetta against the king), Porthos (who is bored stiff of inaction) and D'Artagnan (who has risen to the post of Captain of the Musketeers and responsible for the personal security of the king).
The internal struggle between D'Artagnan as he tries to choose between his responsibility towards his cruel king and his duty to his friends is the climax of the movie. Further, D'Artagnan himself has knowingly committed high treason by falling in love with the queen mother and only she is privy to a secret that can tip the scales for D'Artagnan.
Review of The Man in the Iron Mask
Randal Wallace's The Man in the Iron Mask is basically an adaptation of this story but it has been fairly distorted from the original. However, to his credit this his version of The Man in the Iron Mask is possibly better suited to adaptation into a film because he has authored a happy ending which I feel is much more satisfying than the rather tragic conclusion of the original (where Dumas killed off all of his brave musketeers except for Aramis).
Great performances from a star-studded cast, elaborate sets and a very swift narrative style (reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas himself) makes The Man in the Iron Mask a very enjoyable and fulfilling period drama.
Anish Dasgupta - Hi ya folks, I'm an 18 years old undergraduate currently studying Chemical Engineering. Apart from that I'm an active blogger ( ...
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