“The podcast is a delight. Living in fervent hope that a guest will one day mention 1968’s The Lion in Winter. Randomly borrowed from the library for me by my Dad in an apologetic armload of iffy VHS tapes to occupy me after having my wisdom teeth removed in middle school. The film is a wild ride, with the opening 20+ minutes being tough to watch - like, moments so bad you perhaps aren’t sure you can endure. Even Anthony Hopkins is rough. But then, as the characters of King Henry and Queen Eleanor (O’Toole and Hepburn) begin to circle one another, reunited at Christmas for annual respite from her incarceration, and the tension and snark and obsession and disdain and admiration and loathing takes off between them, All Is Forgiven. It’s like watching your favorite team and your most hated one battle it out in the final minutes of the Championship, but you find your allegiance keeps changing as the clock clicks down. It feels nearly impossible to breathe yet you notice you are panting. When you finally, exhausted and battered, reach the blessed shore and begin to rise, you are leveled again by a stealth wave. Their combined performance of this script is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen on screen. I hope more folks will revisit it.”
barest_smidgen via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
02/28/24