Il leone d'inverno

If you think Christmas with your family is bad, you should see how things were in 1183! The Lion In Winter imagines the court of Henry II during the festive season as elaborate games of chess play out between his various family members, each trying to gain power in some way as Henry himself plays his own game to find his successor.

Both Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn give powerhouse performances as the King and Queen, really dredging every emotion out of each other and vying for power at every turn. Some excellent supporting work including Anthony Hopkins as Richard and a then twenty-year-old Timothy Dalton as the duplicitous King of France. He gives a wonderfully assured performance given his age and measures up brilliantly against the talents of the more established greats.

The sets and locations are excellent, the reasonably constrained set design allowing for the acting to take centre stage, and an appropriately regal score from John Barry glues everything together nicely. An excellent film and a joy watching two great performers in their prime.