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USA Today
July 13, 2001
Strong women, acting emerge from 'Mists'
by Robert Bianco
* * * (out of four)
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Move over, Arthur. It's a woman's world in The Mists of Avalon,
and Camelot is the better for it.
Based on Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1982 fantasy best seller, Mists
offers a matriarchal twist on the Arthurian legend, setting
it in the middle of a battle between a goddess-based pagan religion
and male-dominated Christianity. Where most versions of the story
reduce it to a romantic triangle, Mists expands it into
a culture-clash version of a Greek tragedy, in which overreaching
heroes sow the seeds of their own disaster.
Expansion aside, if you're the type who tires quickly of dungeon-and-dragon
mysticism, gloomy Celtic music and sword-swinging knights, then
you'll still find these Mists a bit too heavy to part.
But when those times roll in, concentrate on the sterling performances
being turned in by a particularly well-chosen cast led by three
wonderful actresses: Anjelica Huston, Joan Allen and Julianna
Margulies.
The four-hour miniseries is told from the point of view of Arthur's
half-sister Morgaine (Margulies), who dreams of a king who will
unite Christians and followers of the old religion. She finds
herself caught among three sisters: Her too easily influenced
mother (Caroline Goodall); her scheming aunt Morgause (Allen);
and her majestic aunt Viviane (Huston), the Lady of the Lake.
Viviane becomes Morgaine's guardian and teaches her the ways of
Avalon, a mist-covered island that exists in a dimension separate
from our own. Her training culminates in a pagan fertility ritual,
in which Morgaine learns an important life lesson: Never make
love to a man in a stag mask.
As the women compete for influence, Mists incorporates
the more familiar story of Arthur (Edward Atterton) and his "Christian
ninny" queen -- here called Gwenhwyfar (Samantha Mathis). Once
again, romantic disaster is set in motion by Lancelot (Michael
Vartan), but this time, Lance is motivated by a desire to live
"in a world where men do not wait on a woman's bidding to come
and go."
Though the new and old plots sometimes collide, Mists succeeds
where the much inferior Merlin did not -- in turning the
legend inside out. Thanks to strong performances from Atterton,
Vartan and Mathis, Mists can relegate Arthur, Lancelot
and Gwenhwyfar to supporting roles while leaving the characters
undiminished. And thanks to the magnetism and skill of Huston,
Allen and Margulies, it can turn the story over to its new stars,
confident they can hold on to it.
The actors are aided by Gavin Scott's much-condensed adaptation
of Bradley's book -- a thoughtful reinterpretation of a favorite
story, not just a silly showcase for computer-generated special
effects.
Luckily, Mists has three very special actresses, and they
make all the difference. Even in the most up-to-date Camelot,
that's one effect no computer can replace.
© Gannett Company, Inc.
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