The Lion In Winter

The Lion in Winter is an amazing movie full of sharp wicked performances and even sharper dialogue. Where else would a queen rail at her sons ‘Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife. We all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re all barbarians.’ This gem of a film stars Peter O’Toole as King Henry II tries to decide the succession of his throne.

The Lion in Winter tells the intimate family story of some significant historic figures, namely King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and their sons Richard, John, and Geoffrey. The king and his queen were notorious for raging wars and plots against each other and against their children. As Richard notes to his mother ‘We could tangle spiders in the webs you weave.’ Here Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn are given free reign to breathe life into these wrecks of people who are nearing the end of their lives and sifting through the wreckage that they have created. Neither is defeated in age, they are only the wiser to maneuver around each other.

In The Lion in Winter the family gathers for Christmas and Henry tries again to determine whom to leave his kingdom to. The eldest son, and rightful heir, has died. The next eldest Richard, played strongly by a young Anthony Hopkins, has always been closest to Eleanor though they have had a falling out. He is strong, given to violence and anger, and emotionally distant from everyone. Geoffrey, the next, is a schemer beloved by none. He spends his time hanging in the background plotting and scheming how to end up the last one standing. John, the youngest is Henry’s selection though he is weak and untrustworthy given more to emotion than thought. When the young king of France Philip II, played by Timothy Dalton arrives, all of Henry’s sons are willing to have the might of France behind them in open war against their own father, for a price.

The most amazing part is the unflinching way in which these characters act and react to each other, none are ashamed of their desires and their plotting, and they are bold and seek what is their right. Here the dark scenery of the castle as rendered by Peter Murton and the rough hew of the costumes serves only to underline the roughness of character of those in the story. James Goldman won the best adapted screenplay for his work on the script adapted from his play.

Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole were both nominated for Best Acting Oscars although only Hepburn won in one of the only ties for an Oscar with Barbara Streisand for Funny Girl. The film was also nominated for best picture and best director though it lost out to Oliver!, go figure. This film is slow in some parts, as it is more about the dialogue of the actors than the actions they take. The scenes with Anthony Hopkins show the beginnings of what has turned into a great career, Katharine Hepburn gives one of her best performances, which is saying a lot. Peter O’Toole rages and stirs up the dissonance of the rest of the company. The rest of the actors are really along for the ride, but they perform their parts admirably and manage to keep up.

This is a wonderful film that has not aged with time because it is a period piece focused on the interaction between a number of strong willed individuals. That this is rooted in real history, think Richard Lionheart and John Landless, only makes the film and its characterizations that much more interesting. The stellar cast bites into this meaty material and never let go.

Related posts:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe