1. He Was An Outstanding Storyteller
Euphemism? Perhaps, yes! Charlotte Shaw, wife of the legendary Bernard Shaw and longtime friend of Lawrence, once said of him Hes such an infernal liar! Thankfully her husband managed to muster a contradiction of this by saying that he wasnt a liar but instead hes an actor! Both Mr and Mrs Shaw make it into Lawrences dedicatory thanks in
Seven Pillars of Wisdom, for which you dont need to look much further than Wikipedia for a list of much-debated discrepancies. The books a weighty tome in meaning and matter but its been the subject of derision and debate for decades. How long it took to get across the Sinai Peninsula, how many people was he really arrested by after he illegally excavated a site, how he couldnt have possibly met
Bob there since Bob had been dead for decades. OK that last one we made up but you get the point. Yet the fact that he never wanted, or accepted, any money from the sale of the book shows that he may have fiddled some facts but his motives certainly werent directed towards bettering his own situation beyond leaving a diamond legacy. It may not be too much to ask that a little poetic license be afforded to a man whose confirmed deeds outweigh those of most. Now, considering this is a film about a lady who was undoubtedly inspired by Lawrence (and vice versa, of course) a scene showing just how inspiring Lawrence could be wouldnt be too much of a stretch of the imagination. Pattinson explaining the beauty of this desert at sunset, or the majesty of that little-known tribal leader with whom hed shared an adventure or seven, treated with the proper selfless adulation of others which Lawrence commanded would definitely bring a new and interesting aspect of his character to light which neither Fiennes nor OToole ever really managed. Ultimately, the choice of an actor more famed for his looks than his acting, to play T. E. Lawrence is not a good sign. The slightly effeminate sharpness to Pattinsons physique strikes of yet another labouring of the point of a great mans sexuality. But if Herzog and Pattinson manage to get past that, manage to portray the mans rugged determination, his strength of will and sheer endurance in the face of harsh nature and deplorable odds, then theres a chance that Queen of the Desert may be an excellent day for the memory of an outstanding man and a miraculous woman.