England, 1 9 3 0s. A civil war wages on between the house of York and Lancester. A tank crashes into the mansion of King Henry VI and his son Edward, and they are killed by Field Marshal Richard, Duke of Gloucester. At first, Richard's brother Edward York becomes the new King, but Richard wants the crown for himself. During several months, he has all his relatives killed in mysterious circumstances: Edward; brother Clarence; Rivers, the Queen's brother; Lord Hastings. This paves the way for him remaining the only candidate next in line, and is thus crowned as the new King. Richard intends to marry Queen Elizabeth. His henchman Tyrrel also executes the Duke of Buckingham, who was loyal to Richard but was impatient about his rewards for support. In the battlefield, the Lancester-led army prevails. Richard flees on top of a building where he is confronted by Lancester heir and rival Henry Richmond. Richard jumps from the building into suicide.
Included in Roger Ebert's list of Great Movies, Richard Loncraine's "Richard III" is besides Olivier's '55 film the most successful adaptation of William Shakespeare's eponymous play. Even though the play was written in 1594, and probably influenced by various bloody power schemes and "games of thrones" of the Byzantine Empire, "Richard III" proved surprisingly relevant even centuries afterwards—the villainous nature of the power-hungry Richard III was sensed from Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar up to Stalin. Shakespeare's dialogues are somehow never quite suitable for cinema since they are often ponderous and archaic, and thus never feel like genuine dialogues between people, yet his themes and observations about human nature are timeless, such as it is the case here: "Richard III" is a giant meditation on how power corrupts, how absolute power corrupts absolutely—and how those who seek it absolutely are ethically bankrupt absolutely.
The title antagonist simply kills almost anyone to eliminate any competition for the crown, until he becomes King. The message is chilling—in such a system of hierarchy of violence, the rulers on top are the most ruthless criminals. The sequence where Richard enjoys his corronation, accompanied by Charpentier's song "Te Deum", stays subconsciously in your head. Transported in an alternate history England of the first half of the 20th century, the movie works mostly thanks to sharp dialogues and monologues, as theatrical as they may sound. In one sequence, as Richard is scheming to eliminate Clarence, he goes: "Simple, plain Clarence! I do love you so, that I shall shortly send your soul to heaven. If heaven will take the present from my hands". With that hump and a paralyzed left hand, Richard is an unlikely leader, yet he sets everything in motion to get a hold of power, one step at a time: in one scene, he sweet talks to someone, only to already plan his murder behind his back. He is thus accosted for his hypocrisy, from Queen Elizabeth ("I have no more sons of the royal blood for you to slaughter") to the Duchess of York ("Oh, hear me a little, for I shall never speak to you again!"). These lines are simply clever, wise or sharp ("Shall I be tempted by the devil thus?" - "Yes, if the devil tempt you to do good." / "And where's your conscience now?" - "In the Duke of Gloucester's purse"). The title anti-hero is played brilliantly by the excellent Ian McKellen, who gave one of his career best performances, and who feels like he could hardly wait to sink his teeth into this classic material.
Grade:+++
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