Becket [1964] [DVD]

I have been waiting for this release for years, and I just can't wait to watch "Becket" again, in all its widescreen splendor. This film simply has it all: Great human drama, complex characters interpreted by superb actors; impressive cinematography, evocative music, and an exciting plot. I think "Becket" is indeed one of the best films ever made, notwithstanding that its screenplay sticks very closely to Jean Anouilh's original stage play. I highly recommend this film to everyone who prefers films about human beings rather than nonsensical special effects.

As the years roll by it's all too easy to forget just how good an actor Richard Burton actually was. In a sense his off-screen presence overshadows the work he did in-front of the camera and that's a shame - at his best, and 'Becket' shows him at the height of his powers, Richard Burton was a superb actor.

The film focuses on that well-known medieval spat between Church and state. Frustrated at every turn by the Church's refusal to help fund his wars against France and by its insistance that criminal offences committed by the clergy should be tried by the church, and not by the state, King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) takes the opportunity presented by the timely death of the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint in his place his good friend Thomas Becket. Sadly, for the King, his youthful companion, so recently a willing participant in the traditional medieval kingly pursuits of drinking, hunting, eating to excess and ardently pursuing the attractive female portion of the peasantry, suddenly begins to take his duties to the Church far too seriously.

The historical Becket, played by the charismatic and charming Burton, does rather well out of this. Historically Becket is often regarded as a rather pompous and self-important individual, more interested in his own reputation than in the health of the Church, but here he comes across as a noble, troubled and intelligent man. The King, admirably played by Peter O'Toole, is charming and dashing, but quick to temper and prone to violent outbursts. The scenes between the two great actors are electric: two forces of nature clashing and sparking against each other, both perfectly capable of seeing the other's point of view and yet neither willing to budge an inch. Splendid support is provided by John Gielgud as the charming and perfidious King of France - he's only on screen for a few minutes, but he steals every scene in which he appears. Also worth a mention are the hilarious scenes in which Henry castigates his long suffering wife and (in his own words) dismally uninspiring children. Peter O'Toole is best known for the dramatic and weighty qualities he brought to the roles he played, but he could do humour and in these brief scenes he displays a real gift for comic timing.

I wish they still made costume dramas like this. It's powerful stuff, beautifully played by the two leads who really do spark off each other, and it is truly gorgeous to look at. The script, based on a stage play, is excellent, being beautifully paced and allowing the viewer to build up a real sense of knowing just what it is that makes the two protagonists tick. It's dramatic stuff and well worth a look. Medieval history has never been so interesting!

Becket constitutes a bit of a puzzle for me. It draws its inspiration from the relationship between two of the most interesting characters in English history. So with this all-star cast and high production values Becket should be a great film. Yet as I watched the film I became increasingly aware that this was not the case. Now, as far as I can tell, Becket's main flaw arises from the fact that although its individual constituents are good, they don't quite slot together.

To expand upon that, the quality of the acting throughout the film is generally a very high calibre however the character design is somewhat dubious. For instance Peter O'Toole's portrayal of Henry II is of a whining playboy, who is completely unable to make decisions or find his way out of a peasant girl's bed without Becket's help. An individual who, while he is not abusing his children like playground bully, is whingeing to his mother and wife like a petulant teenager. While O'Toole's acting is believable, the idea that this man is king of England, founder of our justice system, and great opponent of the Catholic Church is not.
Becket's character is less out of place than that of the King. In the first part film Richard Burton is completely believable, and to some extent even likeable, as a cold manipulative cad with occasional bursts of morality. However once Becket becomes Archbishop, Burton portrays him, a little woodenly as a rigid but peaceful man. Personally I was expecting some fanaticism (hair shirts and the like) or failing that sense of piety but I did not really get a sense of either.

The plot itself is also disjointed. The first part of the film has whoring and the pairs exploitation of women as a central theme. For me, this cumulated in a discussion between the King and Becket on the posterior of the Kings bedfellow, which although comic did rather detract from the gravitas of either character. Now this show of depravity would work well if there was something to contrast it with but due to lack of piety of Becket as Archbishop there is not.
Some scenes that are treated with undue importance in the early part of the film but seem to have no bearing on the later parts. An example of this is that of King stealing a woman from Becket who goes on to kill herself due to the incident. In the film's opening monologue Henry suggests this to be a major cause of the rift between him and Becket but in the latter two thirds of the film it seems to be of no consequence whatsoever.
There are also unusual disparities in the way that those scenes central to the plot are treated. For instance, Becket's threat of excommunication at his own trial is immensely powerful, while the Kings breakdown leading to Becket's murder is so lacklustre that I was compelled to rewind and watch it again to check I had not missed something.

All that said, Becket is not a bad film despite its many attempts to be. Burton's and O'Toole's acting certainly keeps the film compelling to watch from beginning to end. However discontinuities in plot and character design will always prevent Becket from being the classic film that its cast and subject matter deserved.