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King Lear (2018 film)

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King Lear
GenreTragedy
Based onKing Lear
by William Shakespeare
Written byRichard Eyre
Directed byRichard Eyre
StarringAnthony Hopkins
Emma Thompson
Emily Watson
Jim Broadbent
Florence Pugh
Jim Carter
Andrew Scott
John Macmillan
Tobias Menzies
Anthony Calf
Karl Johnson
Christopher Eccleston
John Standing
Music byStephen Warbeck
Country of originUnited Kingdom
United States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerNoëlette Buckley
CinematographyBen Smithard
EditorDan Farrell
Running time115 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release28 May 2018 (2018-05-28)

King Lear is a 2018 British-American television film directed by Richard Eyre. An adaptation of the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, cut to just 115 minutes, it was broadcast on BBC Two on 28 May 2018.[1] Starring Anthony Hopkins as the title character, the abridged adaptation is set in a highly militarised version of 21st-century London and depicts the tragedy that follows when the sovereign King Lear announces the end of his reign and the division of his kingdom among his three daughters. The adaptation was met with positive reviews, which commended its acting, and many singled out Hopkins for his performance in the title role.

Plot

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Set in a highly militarized version of a 21st-century London, the sovereign King Lear calls his family together one evening in order for him to announce the division of his kingdom among his three daughters. The two elder daughters, Regan and Goneril, make open statements about their allegiance to and love for their father and receive each a share of the kingdom. The king's youngest daughter Cordelia, however, finds the act of making such a verbal statement superficial and declines to make a comparable declaration. As a result, she is refused her share of the inheritance, which is now entirely divided between her two elder sisters, and becomes a bride to the French King without dowry.

In a short period of time thereafter, Lear is dispossessed of all his possessions and retinue after Regan and Goneril take power. Edmund in the meantime abuses his brother Edgar's trust in order to gain his father's trust and confidence and has Edgar effectively banished from home and court. Lear's mind begins to waver and for a time he must survive on his own, disowned and starving, between the castles and strongholds of his former kingdom. Eventually, Cordelia returns with military reinforcements by way of her new marriage and England is reduced to civil war. Cordelia's troops are beaten and Cordelia is killed soon after reuniting with her father. Edgar in the meantime has returned to challenge Edmund to armed combat and mortally wounds Edmund before Lear returns to the scene with the body of the dead Cordelia. Regan and Goneril are then dispatched and killed in order to return England to peace and end the civil war. Lear dies of exhaustion at the scene of the death of his three daughters.

The bodies of the three dead sisters are collected and placed on a war-time pull cart, and Lear's dead body is added to the pull cart. The Duke of Kent and Edgar are left to bury the four bodies and to start to rebuild a savaged wartime landscape. It is the wartime landscape left in the wake of the civil war which has just ended following the consequences caused by Lear's previous and ill-fated division on his lands and possessions among his daughters.

Cast

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Production

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In October 2017, the BBC commissioned a new adaptation of the Shakespeare play in a co-production with Amazon Studios, starring Anthony Hopkins as the title character, with Emma Thompson, Emily Watson and Florence Pugh as his daughters. Filming began in the same month in Stevenage.[2][3] A "first look" image was distributed in February 2018.[4]

Scenes were also filmed in various locations in Dover, Kent, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot's Cliff.[5]

Reception

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Critical response

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The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 91% based on 22 reviews, and an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Led by dual mesmerizing performances from Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Emma Thompson and rounded out by a solidly stocked ensemble, this King Lear is a highly watchable adaptation."[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a normalized score of 76 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian commended Hopkins' performance as Lear, deeming him "shouty, vulnerable and absolutely mesmerising" and wrote that "Shakespeare on television – a box it wasn't designed for and doesn't necessarily fit – isn't always successful. It only works if it's not just a play on the telly, but something in its own right, too, with its own identity. This one achieves that, with pace and modernity."[8] The Wall Street Journal's John Anderson also commended Hopkins' performance, writing that he enjoyed watching him "gnash his teeth, wail and go gloriously mad opposite one of the best supporting casts imaginable."[9]

Vulture's Matt Zoller Seitz praised the "terrific" cast and the story's sub-plots, writing "Eyre has cut the text to the bone, sometimes to its detriment, though the edits elevate the play's parallel, secondary story--the bastard Edmund (John McMillan) plotting against his father, the Earl of Gloucester (Jim Broadbent) and his half-brother Edgar (Andrew Scott)--in fascinating ways."[10] Hanh Nguyen of IndieWire wrote that the adaptation "starts to break down near the last third with a choppiness that takes a toll on the logic of the piece" but commended the performances and stated "Amazon's King Lear is by no means a definitive adaptation of what is arguably the Bard's finest tragedy, but it is a thrilling and entertaining one."[11]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee Result
2019 Critics' Choice Awards Best Movie/ Miniseries King Lear Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Miniseries or Television Film Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Television Movie
King Lear
Nominated
Casting Society of America Film – Nontheatrical Release
Nina Gold
Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Trailer: King Lear". BBC. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson to Star in 'King Lear' for Amazon and BBC". The Hollywood Reporter. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. ^ Elvery, Martin (31 October 2017). "Stevenage filming: Sir Anthony Hopkins spotted as scenes shot for BBC's King Lear". The Comet. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  4. ^ Ritman, Alex (22 March 2018). "First Look: Anthony Hopkins Stars as King Lear in BBC/Amazon Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  5. ^ "King Lear (2018)". Kent Film Office. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  6. ^ "King Lear (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ "King Lear Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  8. ^ Wollaston, Sam (28 May 2018). "King Lear review – Anthony Hopkins is shouty, vulnerable and absolutely mesmerising". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  9. ^ Anderson, John (27 September 2018). "'King Lear' Review: A Timeless Tale With a Modern King". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  10. ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (30 August 2018). "Amazon's King Lear Captures the Heart of a Classic Shakespeare Tragedy". Vulture. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  11. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (29 September 2018). "'King Lear' Amazon Review: Anthony Hopkins Enthralls, Chewing His Way Through a 21st-Century War Zone". IndieWire. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
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