4. The Hollow Crown: Richard II (2012)
The quality of The Hollow Crown series was sometimes variable, Henry IV parts 1& 2 annoyed me in ways that were profound and infuriating, but the first one was most certainly the high point. Directed by Rupert Goold, Richard II is the start of The Hollow Crowns version of the Henriad (Shakespeares second historical tetralogy, a series of plays set from the reign of Richard II to Henry V) and it is brilliant. Richard II is another play that deals with the divine right of kings, but in a slightly different way. Its one of Shakespeares historical plays, and was written around 1595 a dangerous time, considering the amount of threats that Elizabeth I faced to her throne. It focuses on Richard II, a slightly despotic king who oversteps his boundaries and is challenged by his cousin, the future Henry IV. Its a far more complex play than youd think, and shows Shakespeares approach to history in a very interesting manner. Goold is a director who most definitely gets Shakespeare, in a way thats profound and unavoidable. He allows the play to be very natural, to flow on the screen without trying to limit it in any way. A few scenes are cut, but only a very few and those that are usually enable Goolds vision of the play to manifest a little more clearly. And what a vision that is. Goolds Richard II is very dark, but also incredibly beautiful. The level of symbolism is brilliant. Richard II as Jesus isnt a new thing, there have been plenty of stage productions with varying degrees of success, but it works here. Theres a slightly religious undertone to Richard II, and Goold captures that perfectly. Richard is painted as a martyr, but hes still a character in his own right the religious undertones are allowed to flavour the thing, but not take over the whole piece. This lack of total domination may also be attributed to the fine performances of the actors, however. Goolds version of Richard II is dotted with absolutely stunning performances, ones that make it even more of a pleasure to watch. Patrick Stewart pops up again as a thunderous John of Gaunt. Rory Kinnear has become the image of Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, in my head perfectly capturing my idea of the character, and probably warping my view of all other performances for years to come. And Ben Whishaw has done much the same Ben Whishaw! The perfect Richard II, petulant and yet oddly knowing, fragile and yet incredibly brave. Whishaw is, undoubtedly, the shining star set in the centre of a galaxy of beautiful performances. But that galaxy is only another part of a beautiful universe, to carry that metaphor a touch too far. Goolds version of Richard II is stunning overall, with gorgeous cinematography that stays in my mind even now. The entire thing is shot beautifully, from the intimate castle shots to the visuals of Henry coming to take his revenge. Every frame of the film is shot through with loveliness, every single moment was obviously made as stunning as possible. It was truly lovely to watch. The Hollow Crown: Richard II was absolutely wonderful to watch overall, though. It did some slightly silly things with the ending, but was brilliant otherwise from deftly applied underlying themes to brilliant acting to beautiful cinematography, it was a definite success and an adaptation that Im going to appreciate for a good while longer.