Edward II
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Movie Reviews of Edward II
Movie Review: Bizarre
Summary: 2 Stars
I couldn't get into this movie. I tried, I really did, but if you think these two guys are too pretty, see your optician without delay. There's nothing to latch onto in the way of a story. It just meanders along and you have no idea what motivates the characters or what they want. Bring a good book to read while you watch this yawner.Movie Review: Homophobic to the Extreme
Summary: 1 Stars
It's difficult to understand how any viewer could interpret this film as anything but a homophobic, angry diatribe. The original text of Christopher Marlowe might well have been lent to a production questioning the brutal end said to have been inflicted on Edward II because of his sexuality. However, this movie *underscores* the supposed bestiality of the King, of Gaveston (presented here as a virulently awful creature whose allure is maddeningly, entirely inexplicable) ... and thereby seems to agree with the notion that homosexuality is repugnant and ought to be brutally punished. How baffling, then, that this film has gained the reputation for being gay positive in any way.
Every last character in this production is a villain; but the king and his favorites are imbued with a special sort of loathsomeness. Had Gaveston been presented with the slightest human dignity, or had Steven Waddington's performance been allowed to display even a hint of integrity or strength, this movie might well have been a great one. Unfortunately, they and everyone around them are hateful, brutal, selfish and conniving.
The performances are universally wretched, which points a finger at the director, not his actors. The editing, both of the source material and of the film itself, appears to be nearly arbitrary. The art direction is either murky or the DVD transfer is abysmal. The perfect absence of sympathy for ANY of the characters is tiresome, not challenging. As it stands, the artiness is all this film has left to offer - and that is rather dated now, and not terribly engaging. When I have enough mental slack while watching a movie to take time to wonder why the poet changed from one pair of reading glasses to another just because some new characters entered the scene, and do not even CARE about the answer, that movie has failed to capture my attention.
I let ten years lapse between my first viewing and my second, and I returned to this film because I believe in second chances. This was worse the second time, worse than "Howard the Duck". No third chances will be afforded. Absolute, utter dreck - and violently *anti-gay*.
Movie Review: Less Than Great Expectations!!
Summary: 1 Stars
My fault, I guess: I knew it was a Derek Jarman film, (usually a bit hit and miss) and I knew it was a film of a play by Christopher Marlowe, (B-grade Shakespeare).
Unfortunately Edward II was made during that beloved '80's fad, when they chose miss-matched costumes and sets from historical periods that supposedly suited individual characters and situations. Usually a ruse to make tired old productions seem more 'hip' and relevant. (It would seem that no more worthy material has been written since Elizabethan times, so we have to keep flogging the old stuff to death!)
In this case, the selection of various 20th century costumes generally served to reinforce the essence of each character, and created images which are easily recognised by the modern T.V. and movie audience.
However, the choice of sets was clearly influenced completely by more mundane budgetary concerns.
A strong cast was totally let down by the director's inability to translate the original play from the stage, to a screen format.
The cardboard sets would have been drab and claustrophobic even in a theatre. No effort was made to open the production out by using the cinematic tricks and locations that a modern-day audience expects.
At least the D.V.D. viewer can fall asleep in the privacy and comfort of their own home, without the embarassment that theatre-goers might have endured!
The historical accuracy was always going to be limited by the source material, but thanks to Jarman's format, lack of locations etc., I learned no more about Edward II, or even the later era of Shakespeare, than I have from researching books and the internet.
As is often the case, a dramatic and interesting true subject, although treated badly, will now be left alone by other film-makers, with the viewing public ultimately the poorer because of Derek Jarman's effort.
Movie Review: Wake Me When It's Over
Summary: 1 Stars
Sure, this was heaped with loads and loads of popular acclaim by the critics, but the question you should be asking yourself is, will it appeal to the average person? The simple answer here is a loud and resounding NO. Here are the reasons: 1) Unless you're a well-bred blue blood who knows all about Edward II and loves Shakespeare, this is extremely hard to follow, not just because of the archaic olde English-speake, but also due to choppy production and editing which impedes the plot coherence. Result? If you're not lost you will soon will be, and worse yet, you won't care; 2) Don't be fooled by the lure of Annie Lennox-she is an itsy-bit of a bit player in the overall run of this "movie" and is, for all intents and purposes, inappropriately placed in the middle of it much like the effect of having an MTV commercial rammed in the middle of your programme; 3) Let's be clear about what you're getting for your 10-15 dollars: It's not a movie at all, but an arty-pretentious stab at cheap play production with less cinematography than your average soap opera or home movie. Further, the "period" is thematically juxtiposed with costumes of old and new, making one more likely to ponder whether their budget was short, not what cutty-edgy-trendy-theme-within-a-theme are they trying to promote. Who knew such a tantillizing, heart-wrenching piece of history could be rendered so dull?Movie Review: One Of The Worst Movies Ever Shot
Summary: 1 Stars
Total and utter waste of time, film, talent, plot, with a terrible experimental post-mod setting for Marlow's Elizabethan story of the eponymous fourteenth-century king. I already look down on most productions that set an historical story outside its time frame but this anachronism was a special example of awfulness, from its drabness to the misuse of the slightly androgynous Tilda Swinton as a glamorous scorned queen. Everything about this production stank, from its bastardizing of Marlow's lines, to its casting, to its setting and sets, everything. I truly despised this motion picture and hope Edward II gets re-made in a more faithful version than this one.