Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Other Doctor Lives: King Lear (2018)

Okay, so I already reviewed Christopher Eccleston playing a major role in a Shakespeare film that wasn’t quite Shakespeare (the Iago character in a modernization of Othello.) Now I’ve got him in an actual Shakespeare film, but he’s only playing a minor role. Clearly, at some point, I’m going to have to find the recording from the RSC production of Macbeth he starred in, because I need my proper Christopher Eccleston Shakespeare fix.

As his mind begins to desert him, King Lear doles out his inheritance for his children based on their professed love for him, cutting his younger daughter out of his life when she won’t go along with his game. However, neither of Lear’s self-serving older daughters are willing to put up with his increasingly-erratic behavior. As his descent continues, Lear is shown who truly cares for him, not in words but in deeds.

It’s an interesting experience to watch this film after having seen The Father, because Sir Anthony Hopkins’s performance as Lear is very similar to his Oscar-winning performance in that movie. Stands to reason, since both are men dealing with severe dementia, but it really highlights the timelessness of this kind of story. Even though Lear is a king, his position doesn’t protect him, and his declining cognitive function wreaks havoc on his relationships.

The moody, stylish film has a strong cast backing up Hopkins, although I wouldn’t say all of them are used as effectively as they could be. Florence Pugh is an excellent Cordelia, frank and steady, but neither Emma Thompson nor Emily Watson make a major impression for me as Goneril and Regan. I normally love Andrew Scott (Moriarty!), but his Edgar is a little uneven for me—while he’s really effective in the quieter, more honest moments, I’m not really a fan of him in the “mad” scenes. I’m not familiar with John Macmillan, but I find him quite engaging as Edmund. The film also features Jim Broadbent, Karl Johnson (who makes a great Fool,) the reliably-weasely Tobias Menzies, and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter (Mr. Carson!), who does a pretty lovely job as the Earl of Kent.

Christopher Eccleston plays Goneril’s steward Oswald. While it’s a small role and he only appears in a handful of scenes, Eccleston does a fine job in the part. Oswald is an incredibly-prim and buttoned-up toady, ready to serve his mistress at every turn but ill-suited to deal with Lear and the rowdy entourage of knights who follow him around. This creates some good comic clashes, with the fussy Oswald futilely trying to get the rough ‘n’ tumble knights in line, but it’s a source of genuine conflict as well.

This being King Lear, that means yet another project in which a sighted actor plays a blind character. This time around, it’s Jim Broadbent. Since I started really keeping track of problematic casting elements (sexual harrassers, whitewashing, etc.), ablebodied actors playing characters with disabilities are by far the most prevalent. Sigh.

Accent Watch

A pretty good-sounding RP.

Recommend?

In General – I think I would. While not the complete slam dunk I was hoping for based on the cast list, it still has a fair amount to recommend it.

Christopher Eccleston – A soft maybe. As a Shakespeare fillm, it’s dense, and Eccleston isn’t in it very much, but he is genuinely good in the role.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements, violence, nudity, drinking, and characters with disabilities played by ablebodied actors.

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