Richard Loncraine’s Richard III is, again, not a great adaptation, but an interesting one that gets some things right. The concept is interesting, the majority of actors is great, and the major sets are wonderfully made, but the concept gets out of the hands of the director and nothing fits together.
The idea behind this adaptation is that England has become a fascist state and Richard III has become a Hitler type character. It is an interesting idea, something unique and different from most adaptation, and in fact I enjoy such ingenuity. However, the problem is that it is problematic and sometimes it takes over the screen rather than the actors and that is all you think about and no longer are thinking about what is actually happening.
The actors, for the most part are great. There is Robert Downey Jr. who seems just comfortable in Shakespeare. Kristin Scott Thomas is also wonderful in many of her scenes. Then there is Jim Carter, Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, and Nigel Hawthorne are all good, but it is Ian McKellan who surpasses them all. But even his majesty, his presence, and his diabolical appeal couldn’t not save the movie from Annete Benning. She runs around on set, doesn’t understand the lines (and it shows) and causes everyone she shares a scene with to falter with her. All eyes become fixed on her and the viewer cannot enjoy the rest of the actors.
And the sets are also wonderful. They are built spectacularly and with such grandness. This may be the only factor of the film that does not falter in any way. The viewer is instantly transported into the film through these sets, but is instantly drawn out by Annete Benning and by the concept.
The film has a few good aspects such as the acting, but it is the bad parts that take over and keep the viewer from liking what is good and become consumed by what is bad. Just like Romeo + Juliet or Men of Respect the director and writer tried to make a starkly different worldm around the Shakespeare but didn't work.
**
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