info-42423
Joined Jan 2017
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info-42423's rating
Broad, hammy, scenery chewing performances. Miserable American accents. Claustrophobically filmed. Sets worse than 1950s space movies. And if you've ever watched a murder mystery before, you instantly know who the victim and the killer are going to be. 51 minutes of my life I'm never going to get back.
I'm watching "The Lion in Winter" for the (mumble)est time. Not sern it for two
Christmases, at least.
Having already lived, as some might say, a long life, I'm viewing it through a different prism and listening from a different seat in the stalls.
I now see it as a comedy of manners, that is being ineffectively crammed into a dramatic touring trunk which accommodates it poorly. Very funny, subtle lines are hollered and spat out à la Henry Irving, obscuring much wit and humor. The only one who gets it is Katherine Hepburn. (Although John Castle, who plays Geoffrey of Monmouth, trails her not too distantly.) I think that's one reason she sparkles so against the raucous, sepia-toned (both actually and metaphorically) atmosphere of the rest of the film. Her delivery is light and alacritous, only slightly obscuring a venomous sarcasm. She's acting for a movie, while every else is shouting and stomping around. Playing to the back of the house that isn't there.
Having already lived, as some might say, a long life, I'm viewing it through a different prism and listening from a different seat in the stalls.
I now see it as a comedy of manners, that is being ineffectively crammed into a dramatic touring trunk which accommodates it poorly. Very funny, subtle lines are hollered and spat out à la Henry Irving, obscuring much wit and humor. The only one who gets it is Katherine Hepburn. (Although John Castle, who plays Geoffrey of Monmouth, trails her not too distantly.) I think that's one reason she sparkles so against the raucous, sepia-toned (both actually and metaphorically) atmosphere of the rest of the film. Her delivery is light and alacritous, only slightly obscuring a venomous sarcasm. She's acting for a movie, while every else is shouting and stomping around. Playing to the back of the house that isn't there.
This is not just about this episode, but the entire 4th Season, which is, essentially, one long episode due to an overriding story arc. So, why did I title this "Whodunnit?" Because it can't possibly be the same folks who brought us the marvelous, engaging, wry-witted, and clever first three seasons. Visually, this season, like all of the others, is just stunning. Filmed using glorious architecture, inside and out, plus earthy, believable sets for the, shall we say, less upscale parts of town. But my god, the plot. Obvious clues in early parts of the season that clumsily reveal the guilty parties before things have even gotten started. Long stretches of time with certain characters in seemingly endless peril. And, without giving anything away, there are big chunks of storyline that aren't really happening. The acting is weary and mannered, and the dialogue banal and predictable. I LOVE the first three seasons, so my disappointment at Season 4 is profound. This is not the first TV series to endear themselves to an audience, and then pull the rug out from under them by drastically altering the ethos of the show, but it's one I simply didn't expect it of. If this is what "Vienna Blood" has become, because of its handlers, there's no point in looking forward to a fifth season.