The Lion in Winter (out now courtesy of Bright Spark), is a period piece with a punch, portraying what is in essence a well-acted and finely-scripted family argument, ultimately delivering a more accessible, made-for-TV King Lear. The drama, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky (Maria’s Lovers), is a remake of a 1969 film starring Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn. This more recent television version was produced by Patrick Stewart, and starts with King Henry II, played by Stewart, holding his Christmas court at Chinon, during which he is set to announce the blood successor to his throne. Assembled for this court are his family, each with their own motivations and wily schemes. Alais, Henry’s mistress, and her venomous brother King Philip of France (played to sly perfection by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Eleanor of Acquitaine (Glenn Close), who is held prisoner by Henry, and Henry’s three sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John, are all present in the castle, and plotting like mad.

It’s easy to see why the earlier film was remade for TV: the script still works perfectly well, and most of the action takes place in and around the castle at Chinon. All parties hold each other in contempt and alliance at varying points in the drama, and all spin their own lies and smiles to each other – but never at any point do the grand arguments, metaphors, coarse language, cheap production values, or even the bad acting of Rafe Spall (as the bumbling and idiotic Prince John) destroy the flow of this: what we are left with instead is a well-written family drama, that could work just as good in either film, television, and on stage. Easily the best bits of the drama are the cut and thrust between Glenn Close as Eleanor and Patrick Stewart as Henry, her former partner, and now her jailer. Both actors are very adept at turning quickly from the whispered words of a once-loving couple, to the hell-raising torrent of a King and Queen at war, and it is this interplay that gives the drama its strength.

The struggle that ensues between Henry, Eleanor, and their greedy crown-hunting offspring, is a perfect example of what a good and fun knockabout historical drama should always rely on capturing: not the opulence of the royal court, or the gaudy symbols of power, but the human elements, motivations, schemes and plots that lie in drama at its most basic. The Lion in Winter is a great example of this, and if you are a fan of historical drama, it sits perfectly well alongside recent more dramatic television fare The Tudors, as well as older films such as A Man For All Seasons and Becket.

Words > Stephen Sharrock