Edward II
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Andrew Lee Bolton, Christopher Adamson, Daniel Bevan, Dinah Beamish, Jill BalconBrand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Ian Wilson
Composer: Simon Fisher Turner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Edward II
Movie Review: Almost Shakespearean
Summary: 4 Stars
An avant-garde film that won't appeal to all tastes, Derek Jarman's "Edward II" takes Christopher Marlowe's Shakespearean-era play and imbues it with a modern sensibility. The minimal sets look as though they were thrown together in an abandoned warehouse or airplane hangar, and successfully convey a stifling atmosphere of labyrinthine darkness, decadence, and murder most foul.
As Edward II, Steven Waddington does what he can with a role that seems to be seriously underwritten. Not having read the original play, I'm not sure if that's attributable to Marlowe or to Derek Jarman (who also co-wrote the screenplay), but Edward never emerges as much more than a character on a page: there's nothing much "kingly" about him, he's not terribly bright, and his motivations seem to change, depending on the scene. Far more successful, I thought, was Andrew Tiernan, as the flashier, much-despised lover of the king, Piers Gaveston. Tiernan plays Gaveston as a fop with an attitude, a scheming, snarky twink with dollar signs in his eyes, and a block of ice for a heart. He plays up to poor, dimwitted Edward, making him believe that he loves him, but the only person Gaveston cares about is Gaveston. He's presented as a villain, but he's certainly no worse than Nigel Terry's power-hungry Mortimer, whose own scheming, and canoodling with Edward's sex-starved Queen Isabella (Tilda Swinton), have devastating consequences. Terry, a veteran actor, turns in a fine performance here, while Swinton (one of only a handful of actors I'd characterize as "luminous") has never been more breathtaking; her Isabella is regal and proper, but with fire blazing beneath the cultivated fashionista veneer. Jarman's partner, Kevin Collins, has a key role as the jailer, and he makes the most of it. His ability to convey the deepest emotions with minimal dialogue is both moving and impressive. And Annie Lennox has a brief, beautiful scene as a singer, which only made me wish that she had a bigger part, because she's got a terrific presence.
At the end of the day, "Edward II", while not a perfect film, is far from a waste of time. It's sort of like Shakespeare with a kink, an under-developed, yet mesmerizing, foray into royal intrigue that links its subject matter to modern issues (AIDS, gay liberation) while eschewing the tired casting of porno coverboys as the principal male leads. The film is commendable on a number of levels, and its shortcomings are overshadowed by Jarman's fine direction and vision, by many of the performances, and by the overall quality of the production.
Summary of Edward II
The King of England finds his throne in peril when he brings his lover, Gaveston, enraging the current queen who goes on a rampage of vengeance.Art House & International DVD Video
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