The DePaulia

Issue date: 6/5/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Sony Pictures Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie star in the film "Labyrinth"

In the dark, pre-computer animation days of cinema, there was a film called "Labyrinth". It was a box office failure, and yet those who have seen it - either when it was released in 1986 or later on video - love it. "Labyrinth" is a fantasy/adventure film that is sometimes trippy, but always stylish in the telling of its story. More current films like "Mirror Mask" and "Pan's Labyrinth" would borrow much from this cult classic.

The film stars Jennifer Connelly, who was 15 at the time, as Sarah. Sarah is a girl who exists in the "real world", but spends most of her time obsessing over fairy tales and make-believe. Irate that she has to babysit her half-brother Toby, Sarah recites a line from her favorite fantasy book, stating "I wish the goblins would come and take you away...right now."

And that's exactly what happens. Just like that, her brother is gone and Sarah is confronted by Jareth, the Goblin King - played by rock star David Bowie. Sarah begs for Toby to be returned to her, but Jareth rebuffs her request. The Goblin King tells her that the only way she can win Toby back is if she successfully makes it to his castle within 13 hours. Standing between her and the castle is a giant, maze-like structure called the Labyrinth.

Navigating through a life-sized maze would be hard enough, but the Labyrinth is laden with traps, and reconfigures itself - its walls and openings shifting around, making Sarah's task even more difficult. Along the way she befriends several different creatures, including a crotchety old dwarf named Hoggle, a gentle giant named Ludo and a brave, pint-sized fox-squirrel-thingamajig named Sir Didymus. The three of them embark on a "Wizard of Oz" type journey in an effort to save Sarah's brother.

"Labyrinth" is by no means a perfect movie. I usually wince when the characters in a film dance or break into song. That happens a few times here - David Bowie is in the film, so what do you expect? Bowie's crooning and the eighties-era rock soundtrack - is that a saxophone I hear? - give the film a bit of a dated feel. This is further enhanced by Jareth's eye makeup and teased-out, spiked hair - making him look more like a member of a glam-rock band than the king of the goblins.

Regardless of that aspect, Bowie still does a great job of playing the mercurial Goblin King. Jareth is elegant and cool in one scene, plotting and cruel in the next, so you never really figure out where he stands in the whole good/evil scheme of things.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools