Becket

Movie Information

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Becket at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 22 in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and park in the lot on the left.)
Score:

Genre: Historical Drama
Director: Peter Glenville
Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Donald Wolfit, Pamela Brown
Rated: NR

What we have here is a solid five stars worth of acting talent in a slightly shaky four stars worth of movie. The problem is that even in 1964, Becket was a bit on the old-fashioned side—the sort of historical drama that relies too much on a thin veneer of historical accuracy and its own self-professed importance. Despite the fact that the content touches on some rather earthy topics and contains undeniable elements of gay subtext concerning the relationship between Becket (Richard Burton) and Henry II (Peter O’Toole), the film itself relies too much on the idea of being a historical pageant. As a movie, it’s the kind of thing much prized by persons who are impressed by seeing real cobblestones on the roadways. Part of the blame must go to director Peter Glenville. Never the most exciting of filmmakers, Glenville only occasionally rises to the occasion with visuals worthy of the material (usually in crowd scenes or scenes of religious ritual). For every striking or apt composition, there must be a dozen indifferent ones.

However, nothing can really detract from the literate dialogue of the film (and its source play) or the unreservedly brilliant performances of O’Toole and Burton in the lead roles. Rather than seeing two acting titans pitted against each other, Becket affords us the opportunity of witnessing two tremendous talents bring out the best in each other. Neither tries to outdo the other, but simply to stay on the same lofty plane. (Perhaps this is the reason that neither took home the Best Actor Oscar, which instead went preposterously to Rex Harrison for My Fair Lady.) For this alone, Becket would be worth seeing, but it’s a film that also scores in its ability not to let the important trappings embalm the characters, who invariably come across as human and real. As filmmaking, it’s a mixed bag, but as drama, it’s anything but.

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.