Today,
I’m staying home for Mike Nesmith.
I
know, I know: I’m an Anglophile who loves period pieces, female-led shows, and
former Doctor Who stars, but I
haven’t seen The Crown. It fell prey
to So Many Shows, So Little Time for me, and I just never managed to get around
to it. Now, though, with Other Doctor Lives up and running, I’ve finally made
time for it. Matt Smith costarred in the first two seasons of this royal drama.
We
open on the 1947 marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, proceeding
forward several years through their early married life and parenthood. At the
same time that they’re enjoying being young and royal, however, Elizabeth’s
father, George VI, is in failing health. Despite the doctors’ sanguine words to
most of the parties concerned, the king gradually comes to realize the severity
of the situation and tries to prepare Elizabeth for taking the throne much
sooner than either of them expected.
Although
this series is very famously about the reign of Elizabeth II, the pilot episode
features Elizabeth as merely one of several major characters populating the
royal and political backdrop of the story. It doesn’t quite feel like her show,
not yet. The series is taking its time to set things up, and while the episode
lays some good groundwork for who Elizabeth is and what will be facing her in
the coming installments, she’s not a big mover/shaker of the plot at this
point. She’s still kept largely in the dark about her father’s condition – even
as he urges her to learn more about his duties and take on more
responsibilities, he doesn’t tell her why. Already, though, she’s realizing
that balancing the necessities of state and her married life will be difficult.
So,
with Elizabeth remaining more to the side of the action, that puts George VI
more in the fore. The episode does a great job presenting an able but timid
king who at first denies the reality of his situation (which is easy when even
his doctors are lying to him,) touting his swift “recovery,” but then starts
coming to grips with its gravity. One of my favorite scenes in the episode
comes when a group of carolers are brought in to serenade the family at
Christmas; George, already aware that he’s unlikely to survive this, endeavors
to keep up a brave face before his family and his subjects. Really affecting,
and Jared Harris is excellent in the role.
The
cast is brimming with all kinds of good British talent. I caught sight of
Vanessa Kirby (Estella from a Masterpiece production of Great Expectations,) Harriet Walter, Jeremy Northam (my favorite
Mr. Knightley,) and Ben Miles (Patrick from Coupling.)
The series also features John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, who I’m not fully
sold on yet. So far, when I look at him, I see British John Lithgow rather than
Churchill.
Although,
like I said, this first episode doesn’t center as much on Elizabeth herself, I
can already see why Claire Foy got so much acclaim in the role. I remember her
as the lead in an adaptation of Little
Dorrit a number of years ago, and she’s very good here. I really like her
minute reactions, conveying an awful lot through very subtle changes of
expression, and the end of the episode brings a preface of things to come.
Then,
of course, we have Matt Smith as Philip. Smith has already proven how adept he
is at playing incredibly posh, and he brings that in spades – he and Foy both
sport accents so crisp, you could bounce quarters off them – while keeping
sight of the fact that this is also a person, not just an abstraction of
privilege and position. There are a lot of little touches I’m enjoying so far,
especially Philip’s dutiful attentions to his and Elizabeth’s children.
As
with Elizabeth, I’m sure there’s much meatier stuff to come, but there are a
few really standout scenes in this episode. The nonverbal exchanges between
Elizabeth and Philip during their wedding are just wonderful, with both actors
utterly nailing it, and there’s a great scene between Philip and George near
the end. (Also, for those who like that sort of thing, we’re given a
fairly-gratuitous shot of Smith’s naked butt.) Definitely interested to see
where things go!
Accent Watch (as long as I’m writing actor reviews
involving Brits, I’m going to keep this up)
RP,
toff to the extreme.
Recommend?
In
General – First
impression is a decisive yes. For anyone who loves a good period piece, this
delivers well, the cast is excellent, and the pilot sets the stage nicely.
Looking forward to seeing more.
Matt
Smith – Another yes off
the bat. I have the feeling we’re just getting started with this performance
Warnings
Drinking/smoking,
light sexual content (including the brief aforementioned nudity,) language, and
thematic elements.
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