The Lion in Winter (2003)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Fantastic!

best movie i've ever seen.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I never saw the 1968 version with Katharine Hepburn although I will later. Glenn Close is illuminating as Eleanor of Aquitane with a range that runs from comedy to tragedy. Sir Patrick Stewart OBE plays her King Henry II. He is brilliant in this role and this project is a labor of love with his wife and producer Wendy Nuess Stewart. Stewart's well-known as a Shakespearean actor before he became famous for another role. Unlike Shakespeare, The Lion in Winter is more enjoyable because there isn't iambic pentameter. The cast is great. Stewart and Close are remarkable as the estranged couple and parents of three sons, Richard; Jeffrey; and John who are nothing but disappointments to their parents. They're after their father's throne. But the film really belongs to Stewart and Close because their performances stand out so well.

I've never seen the original ALIW with Hepburn, so I wasn't able to make comparisons there. I did see a stage version, years ago at my old university, so I was familiar with the plot and characters.Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close have wonderful chemistry. I freely admit that I could watch Stewart sit on a chair and read from the phone book, but he makes an absolutely commanding Henry II. Close is alternately domineering and fragile, but always riveting. Their separate scenes are elegant, but they shine most when they play off of each other; Henry and Eleanor have a fascinating dynamic, and the interaction between husband and wife is dazzling.I was less enamored with the performances of the three English princes. Andrew Howard's Richard was done well enough, particularly the scenes where he was portraying softer emotions. John Light's Geoffrey didn't seem quite right to me, but that may not be his own fault; the actor who played Geoffrey in the stage version I saw was a friend of mine, so my opinion of the character will forever be biased. Rafe Spall's John was utterly appalling -- but he was supposed to be, so does the fact that I absolutely loathed him mean he was brilliant? Yuliya Vysotskaya was a luminous Alais. She has a splendid range and presence, and I wish she would do more acting projects that would let her be seen in the U.S. She has a charming ethereal quality when the script calls for it, yet can be equally hard as needed.For me, though, the best performance was that of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who I found utterly captivating as King Philip of France. He steals every scene in which he appears, and gives the young King just the right balance of anger, slyness, contemplation, and humor. (And let's be honest, he's not really hard on the eyes either.) On the whole, I couldn't bring myself to stop watching the movie until it was over, and it's definitely one I would be happy to watch again.

Doesn't anyone remember the stage version of The Lion in Winter? Rosemary Harris was absolutely terrific, and while Hepburn nails a wonderful performance in the '68 film, neither Peter O'Toole or Patrick Stewart can hold a candle to the strong and powerful performance of Robert Preston (yes "The Music Man") on Broadway. Some of the earlier comments are worth re-emphasizing: remakes have to be viewed with suspicion because they are excuses for originality ("if it was good the first time, it's going to be better the second" -- is that dumb or what?). Also, there is a tendency to try to improve on the original, although I'm glad they didn't monkey too much with the script in the Close/Stewart version (the vision of remaking "To Kill a Mockingbird" is horribly scary to say the least).

It's refreshing to see a new take on a familiar work. But when the original is a legend, the new interpretation often seems wanting. So it is with this `Lion in Winter.' You want it to succeed, but…you hear the actors speak their lines, & ache for the brilliant readings of the earlier film. You respect capable actors like Close & Stewart, but yearn for the inspired pyrotechnics of Hepburn and O'Toole. All actors admirably give performances quite distinct from those of the '68 film-but only Jonathan Rhys-Meyers gives one at least as impressive as his earlier counterpart. His spoiled, manipulative, bisexual man-boy is a fascinating Philip. This `Lion in Winter' is enjoyable, but pales in inevitable comparison to the first version. If nothing else, it will make you treasure its superb predecessor all the more.