The Lion in Winter
Y
May 20, 2004
Granted, it would be hard to top the Katharine Hepburn-Peter O'Toole version of "The Lion in Winter." Still, it can be forcefully argued that the new Hallmark Entertainment remake starring Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart yields a rendition that is equally faithful to the biting humor and raw drama with which James Goldman infused his classic play.
The story, set in 1183, tells of an aging but still powerful King Henry II (Stewart), who has more difficulty picking a successor than the Disney board of directors. He favors his youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), though it seems obvious to everyone else that the teenager has as much potential as a foam rubber spear. Nonetheless, Henry wants to announce the name of his intended heir at a special Christmas court held at a spacious, if drafty, French castle.
To mark the event, he releases his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Close), whom he had locked away for the past decade to keep her from staging more coups against him. Ten years of captivity has done little to diminish her salty disposition, her skills at manipulation or the mutual feelings of admiration and affection the royal couple still feel for each other.
Given the opportunity, Eleanor campaigns for her son Richard (Andrew Howard). Caught in between is the scheming middle son Geoffrey (John Light). Also a factor is Alais (Julia Vysotsky), Henry's ward and now mistress, who will be passed like jewelry to the chosen heir.
Over the course of a couple of days, Henry feels the exuberance of absolute authority and the bitter loneliness of realizing that, his power notwithstanding, there is no worthy successor to lead the vast empire he assembled. The part requires an enormous emotional range but nothing, it seems, that Stewart can't handle.
Close, too, rises to the challenge of a role that requires great energy and assertiveness. As Eleanor, she convincingly plays out a hand that is just a card or two short of what is needed for victory.
Director Andrei Konchalovsky is keenly aware of the emotional nuances and makes excellent use of lighting and camera angles to emphasize Henry's triumphant moments and his distress. Given the length of the film and the curse of unforgiving modern attention spans, Konchalovsky manages to find a pace that is just right for viewers and for the unfolding of secret strategies and intriguing plot twists. Filming in Hungary and at the Spissky Castle in Slovakia renders a feeling of the period as well as a timelessness of the conflict.
THE LION IN WINTER
Showtime
Hallmark Entertainment
Credits: Executive producers: Robert Halmi Sr., Robert Halmi Jr., Martin Poll, Patrick Stewart, Wendy Neuss-Stewart
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Co-producer: Paul Lowin
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Teleplay: James Goldman
Based on the play by: James Goldman
Director of photography: Sergei Kozlov
Production designer: Roger Hall
Editor: Henry Richardson
Music: Richard Hartley
Casting: Joyce Gallie, Sally Osoba
Cast:
Henry: Patrick Stewart
Eleanor: Glenn Close
Phillip: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Richard: Andrew Howard
Geoffrey: John Light
John: Rafe Spall
William Marshall: Clive Wood
Alais: Julia Vysotsky
The story, set in 1183, tells of an aging but still powerful King Henry II (Stewart), who has more difficulty picking a successor than the Disney board of directors. He favors his youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), though it seems obvious to everyone else that the teenager has as much potential as a foam rubber spear. Nonetheless, Henry wants to announce the name of his intended heir at a special Christmas court held at a spacious, if drafty, French castle.
To mark the event, he releases his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Close), whom he had locked away for the past decade to keep her from staging more coups against him. Ten years of captivity has done little to diminish her salty disposition, her skills at manipulation or the mutual feelings of admiration and affection the royal couple still feel for each other.
Given the opportunity, Eleanor campaigns for her son Richard (Andrew Howard). Caught in between is the scheming middle son Geoffrey (John Light). Also a factor is Alais (Julia Vysotsky), Henry's ward and now mistress, who will be passed like jewelry to the chosen heir.
Over the course of a couple of days, Henry feels the exuberance of absolute authority and the bitter loneliness of realizing that, his power notwithstanding, there is no worthy successor to lead the vast empire he assembled. The part requires an enormous emotional range but nothing, it seems, that Stewart can't handle.
Close, too, rises to the challenge of a role that requires great energy and assertiveness. As Eleanor, she convincingly plays out a hand that is just a card or two short of what is needed for victory.
Director Andrei Konchalovsky is keenly aware of the emotional nuances and makes excellent use of lighting and camera angles to emphasize Henry's triumphant moments and his distress. Given the length of the film and the curse of unforgiving modern attention spans, Konchalovsky manages to find a pace that is just right for viewers and for the unfolding of secret strategies and intriguing plot twists. Filming in Hungary and at the Spissky Castle in Slovakia renders a feeling of the period as well as a timelessness of the conflict.
THE LION IN WINTER
Showtime
Hallmark Entertainment
Credits: Executive producers: Robert Halmi Sr., Robert Halmi Jr., Martin Poll, Patrick Stewart, Wendy Neuss-Stewart
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Co-producer: Paul Lowin
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Teleplay: James Goldman
Based on the play by: James Goldman
Director of photography: Sergei Kozlov
Production designer: Roger Hall
Editor: Henry Richardson
Music: Richard Hartley
Casting: Joyce Gallie, Sally Osoba
Cast:
Henry: Patrick Stewart
Eleanor: Glenn Close
Phillip: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Richard: Andrew Howard
Geoffrey: John Light
John: Rafe Spall
William Marshall: Clive Wood
Alais: Julia Vysotsky
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