Originally posted by Northender
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I thought he played the part beautifully, changing from an Angry Young Man of whom John Osborne would have been proud into a suitably majestic figure who was aware of what lay in store yet faced the future with a kind of heroic stoicism of which Scott of the Antarctic would have been equally proud.
I felt that, by the time the coffin containing Richard II was brought in, he had already conveyed very subtly, but nonetheless very clearly, the growing realization that he - and all his followers and descendants - were going to pay a dreadful price, not so much because they had performed evil deeds, but because it had been borne in on him that the fate of all monarchs is sealed in advance, and he just happened to be the latest wearer of the crown. In the end, he was as much of a victim as he was at the outset. The difference - conveyed by gesture, expression and silence as by words - was that he no longer railed against the situation in which he found himself.
What I also found quite fascinating was the skilful way in which the continual changes in Richard's attitude were reflected in his speech patterns - compare, for example, the brusque put-down in response to John of Gaunt's 'This England' speech and the consequent rapping out of orders with his high-flown oratory while attempting to retain some shreds of royal dignity and the subsequent plainness of his language once he had accepted his fate.
Among a very strong supporting cast, I would single out Messrs Suchet and Morrissey. I know DS has his detractors, but anybody who can play, to give just a couple of examples, a Maxwellian monster such as Sebastian Melmoth (correct spelling?) in 'The Way We Live Now' and the irritating, slightly fey Hercule Poirot, with the same degree of conviction as that with which he played the part of York has my admiration.
I felt that, by the time the coffin containing Richard II was brought in, he had already conveyed very subtly, but nonetheless very clearly, the growing realization that he - and all his followers and descendants - were going to pay a dreadful price, not so much because they had performed evil deeds, but because it had been borne in on him that the fate of all monarchs is sealed in advance, and he just happened to be the latest wearer of the crown. In the end, he was as much of a victim as he was at the outset. The difference - conveyed by gesture, expression and silence as by words - was that he no longer railed against the situation in which he found himself.
What I also found quite fascinating was the skilful way in which the continual changes in Richard's attitude were reflected in his speech patterns - compare, for example, the brusque put-down in response to John of Gaunt's 'This England' speech and the consequent rapping out of orders with his high-flown oratory while attempting to retain some shreds of royal dignity and the subsequent plainness of his language once he had accepted his fate.
Among a very strong supporting cast, I would single out Messrs Suchet and Morrissey. I know DS has his detractors, but anybody who can play, to give just a couple of examples, a Maxwellian monster such as Sebastian Melmoth (correct spelling?) in 'The Way We Live Now' and the irritating, slightly fey Hercule Poirot, with the same degree of conviction as that with which he played the part of York has my admiration.
) around at the moment and presumably some fine directors too.
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