Richard III Review

The country seems to be finally at peace under the rule of Edward IV and the House of York. However, a new threat emerges from within the King’s own family, as his ruthless younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Benedict Cumberbatch), sets plans in motion to take the throne for himself. Beginning by arranging the imprisonment of unsuspecting middle brother George, Richard manipulates and murders all who stand in his way. As he rises in power, the Duke of Richmond raises an army to overthrow him, leading to the final battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Richard III has always been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. More accessible than most it’s a rip roaring tale of dastardly deeds with a gleefully evil villain at its centre who will stop at nothing to secure his place on the throne.

The only surprise is that given the enduring popularity of the play and indeed Netflix’s remake of House of Cards (which is of course just Richard III in the world of US politics) that it has taken the BBC this long to commission a new screen adaptation.

This adaptation sets the tone from the very first frame as a shirtless, glowering Benedict Cumberbatch (sporting a prosthetic hump to mimic Richard’s supposed deformity) plays chess with himself while delivering the famous “winter of our discontent” speech. It’s a gloriously sinister beginning as a bitter Richard dripping acid with every syllable spits out his unhappiness at being under-appreciated and cast aside by his family. As he is not loved he is determined to “prove a villain.” When adapting Shakespeare for the screen it’s always a tricky decision as to just who the characters are addressing when they start to soliloquise - there’s no audience sat right in front of the actors to talk to as there would be in the theatre. Richard III takes the approach of having Benedict soliloquise straight to the camera, nodding and winking to us throughout, making us as the audience feel that we are complicit from the start in his misdeeds. The little wink to the camera as Richard skilfully manipulates his poor doomed brother Clarence into believing that he is truly on his side is both highly vicious and wildly entertaining.

Benedict Cumberbatch is clearly having the absolute time of his life as Richard. His eternally black clad Richard is gleefully malevolent, silkily venomous and completely amoral. He’s an absolute delight to watch, delivering his speeches with obvious relish. The play has always been darkly funny and Benedict brings that out capturing the pitch black humour in Richard’s lines. Richard III is a brilliant character because, despite his tendency to massacre anyone who stands in his way (friends, his brother, his wife, small defenceless children…) he’s so much more entertaining than any other character in the play that despite his truly appalling actions you simply can’t help but root for him. Especially when you see the profound disdain that his mother (played by the titan of acting that is Dame Judi Dench) has for him.  

No actor playing Richard has ever been able to make me buy the painfully sexist sequence where he successfully and completely effortlessly seduces Anne (the wife of the man he brutally murdered) over her husband’s grave. But Benedict gives it the old college try using his best puppy dog eyes and softly spoken manner to woo poor Anne into being his (pitifully short lived) bride. For much of the first half it’s darkly entertaining to watch the chess pieces fall one by one as Richard skilfully manoeuvres his way to the crown.

Of course as the series has shown the crown weighs heavy and no sooner has Richard been crowned than he goes completely to pieces. Benedict is deeply unsettling as the paranoid, twitchy King Richard, haunted by Queen Margaret’s curse. He terrifies the life out of his courtiers, doling out death sentences in strained whispers, dismissing Buckingham with a hissed “I’m not in the giving mood today” and staring into the middle distance at horrors they cannot see. The murder of the princes in the Tower of London, soundtracked by Richard tapping out a relentless drum beat with his fingers is haunting. His final soliloquy as he lies a wreck of a man, drenched in sweat, wracked by his guilty conscious is beautifully delivered as he concedes that he is a murderer that will not be mourned. Richard III is a gift of a part for an actor and Benedict plays the hell out of it. It’s glorious to watch.

It’s not a one man show though as Benedict is very capably aided by an illustrious and excellent cast. James Fleet brings a lump to the throat as the naive (and easily dispatched) Hastings. Ben Daniels is fantastic as Buckingham particularly in my absolutely favourite scene in the play where Buckingham has to “convince” Richard (who has squirrelled himself away in “prayer”) to take the throne. It’s such an entertaining scene and Daniels is masterful throughout. You can’t help but feel for him as you see the look of dawning dread in his eyes as he watches Richard visibly withdraw from him the second he has precisely what he wants.

Keeley Hawes (who has become quite the acting power house in the past couple of years) is beautifully understated as the Queen - grieving not only the loss of her husband and brother but also her two sons.  Judi Dench is Judi Dench - she’s extraordinary in everything and that doesn’t change here. Benedict and Judi play beautifully off each other. Luke Treadaway as Henry Tudor doesn’t have a great deal to do other than sound noble and look fetching in uniform and show up at the end to vanquish Richard (slaughtering him not in some beautiful battle sequence but rather fittingly in a grubby skirmish as they wrestle on the ground of a mud logged field). Finally Sophie Okonedo (who must have the BAFTA nomination in the bag) dominates proceedings as Queen Margaret. In other adaptations I’ve always found Margaret to be a profoundly annoying character - a haggard witch type creature who shows up to curse the remaining members of the House of York before popping up later in the tale to basically say “I told you so” to everyone. Here though Margaret is wrath & vengeance in human form. Bedraggled, full of despair but unbent she paints an other worldly figure. Her curse dogs Richard’s every moment. He is haunted by her at every turn, her mirror showing him his true nature. It’s a sublime turn and she’s gifted with an extraordinary final shot - Margaret stood on a muddy field in England surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of bodies - the human cost of The War of the Roses.

Richard III showcases the BBC at its very very best. It’s a cracking, accessible adaptation of a brilliant play, beautifully shot and performed by a cast to die for of which Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Okonedo are the standouts. Extraordinary, exciting, wonderful television which should remind everyone at a time when the BBC is under constant threat that you can keep your US networks and your streaming services, when it comes to it the BBC makes some of the best television in the world.

CRANE SHOT

A shot where the camera is placed on a crane or jib and moved up or down. Think a vertical tracking shot. (x)

DUTCH TILT

A shot where the camera is tilted on its side to create a kooky angle. Often used to suggest disorientation. (x)

Benedict being handsome, cute, and bashful.

Burlesque Fairytales - 2009

All I wanted was your love. I would have loved you with all my heart.

Johnlock-Words Unspoken by Fallingzz. DON’T SCROLL DOWN!! This is soooo beautiful and incredibly sad (currently sobbing in a corner).

OMG didn't expect to see it shared on tumblr. I'm so happy you like it!!! Sea of tears.

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