Review: Cromwell
Brooding Richard Harris is the 17th
century Englishman, an idealistic member of the House of Commons, who wishes to
rescue his beloved England from its supposedly unfair system where King Charles
(Sir Alec Guinness) reigns autocratically and his sycophants do all the
talking, not the common man. He takes up the fight with his fellow
Parliamentarians against the King and his Royalists, and not just on the
battlefield as Cromwell defends the downtrodden who have had no voice. Timothy
Dalton plays the King’s rather incompetent, foppish nephew Prince Rupert.
Robert Morley is the duplicitous Earl of Manchester, a parliamentary rival of
Cromwell’s. Charles Gray, Douglas Wilmer and Geoffrey Keen play Cromwell’s
parliamentary allies.
1970 historical biopic from
writer-director Ken Hughes (of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” fame) gets
generally poor reviews from people probably more qualified to talk about its
lack of historical accuracy (among other supposed flaws) than myself. All I can
say is that I found it generally persuasive and not at all dull. Harris, whilst
not ugly enough for the role in some people’s eyes, is a fine casting choice in
my opinion, and I found him most believable and suitably passionate. Also
excellent in a top-drawer cast are Guinness (who manages to make you understand
the proud and stubborn ruler’s position, and conveys his overall decency),
Nigel Stock (one of his meatier character parts), Gray, and the always
wonderful Morley (as the film’s only real heavy). A young Timothy Dalton has a
good small role, too.
It’s neither the best nor worst costume
drama I’ve seen, but I particularly appreciated that it didn’t entirely
demonise either of its two opposing
main characters, and it’s actually pretty interesting stuff. Not the stuffy,
bloated, and cold-hearted film I was expecting from what I had read. Perhaps
being unfamiliar with the subject made me more open to this film version
(Cromwell is still a hated figure in Ireland and Scotland for reasons I was
unfamiliar with when watching the film, so if you’re Scottish or Irish, perhaps
this film isn’t for you). I’m usually pretty knowledgeable on historical
figures, but I had only vaguely heard of Cromwell before seeing the film.
Rating: B-
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