The Princess Bride -- A Film Review

The Princess Bride – A Film Review

            Based off of the novel by William Goldman and released in 1987, this movie began as a moderately unsuccessful film and grew into a cult classic. It continues to be a favorite among movie lovers and is unique to the fantasy genre because it incorporates comedy in a way that drives the plot forward.

After watching the movie for years, I was surprised to recently find out that the novel that the film was based on is substantially different from the film. In the novel, the narrative is simple and unbroken; in the film, the main story is set inside of a frame narrative and two new characters are introduced. Therefore, for this fantasy film, I have chosen to review the frame narrative, which heavily affects the entire story.

            The movie opens with a boy sick in bed. To his displeasure, while he is playing a video game, his grandfather arrives with a gift. His disappointment is furthered when he opens the gift – a book that the grandfather wants to read aloud to the boy. The main narrative of the movie begins when the grandfather begins reading the tale.

            From this early moment in the movie, the use of frame narrative is established. What makes this more interesting than a typical narrative of this kind, however, is that the narrator of the story is not in the frame – that is, the grandfather is one conveying the story, but he is not the narrator of the story. The grandson and the grandfather, then, are both participating in an interpretation of the text.  

            The boy makes several interruptions at the beginning of the story, such as complaints about the plot or assumptions about what is going to happen (or not happen). The film, by incorporating these interruptions in the narrative, draws much attention not to the narrator of the story, but to the story as a literary text. The story does not stand on its own but is supplemented all the way through by the reader and sick boy, constantly reminding the viewer that the story is coming from a book.

            The book itself, then, is important to the both stories taking place in the film. At the beginning, the boy is playing a baseball video game, which he shuts off only when his grandfather begins reading. The boy asks if the book has “got any sports” in it, to which the grandfather excitedly replies: “Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…”

            “That doesn’t sound too bad,” the boy says, shutting the television off.

Later, at a seemingly intense part of the story, sometime after the reader’s voice has ceased and the character’s voices have taken over, the narration is broken by a voiceover of the grandfather. “She doesn’t get eaten by the eels at this time,” he says. The scene switches back to the grandson’s bedroom and we see him clenching his bedspread, nervous, confused. Here is one example of the narration being broken in the film – it happens multiple times.

The reason for setting the story in a frame narrative is very intentional, and, because the interrupting of narration is consistent throughout, it must also be intentional. This method affects the story in multiple ways.

First, the frame narrative helps color the story with humor. This humor goes along with the comedic elements that are already in the main narrative. Overall, this dilutes the gravity of the story, and, consequently, the gravity of the fantasy element. This movie brings, too, yet another element to the table of fantasy – just how necessary is solemnity to a fantasy story?

Secondly, the frame narrative blatantly draws attention to the fact that the story is not real. Unlike the fantasy text that this film is based on, the narration pulls the story out of the viewer’s ability for a willing suspension of disbelief. Arguably, the frame narrative detracts from the element of escapism that is necessary to fantasy. However, the story itself seems to maintain a level of realism in the characters that is high enough to convince the viewer of its plausibility.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the frame narrative serves to make a statement on the value of literature, for the book itself is in direct contrast to the boy’s television. The movie begins with a picture of the television screen and a gift of a book that greatly disappoints the grandson. As he engages with the story, however, the boy finds it interesting despite himself. He begins interrupting the narrative out of dissatisfaction but gradually interrupts the narrative out of excitement or empathy. At the conclusion of the story, the boy does not turn his television back on. Instead, he asks his grandfather if he might come back the next day and read it again. Ironically, the film based on a novel is seeking to exalt literature – either as superior to or equal to films.

The Princess Bride not only engages with many elements that are necessary to the fantasy genre, but it also engages with a storytelling tool in a way that has drawn enough attention to set it apart from other fantasy films. In this case, the film was able to utilize the frame narrative while maintaining the proper blend of fantasy to make it into a fierce cult classic.