To Kill a King *** (2003, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Olivia Williams, Rupert Everett, James Bolam, Corin Redgrave) – Classic Movie Review 2120

Tim Roth has a field day as historical film baddie Oliver Cromwell in this tale of the fall of King Charles I (Rupert Everett) at the end of the English Civil War in 1645. It focuses on the relationship between Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax in the post-war period from 1648 until Cromwell’s death in 1658.

It is quite a feast of acting. Dougray Scott is sterling as Cromwell’s doubting man, General Thomas Fairfax, and so is Olivia Williams as his sensible wife, Lady Anne, Everett is excellent as the King, while James Bolam steals all his scenes as old Baron Denzil Holles.

The fine performances certainly grab the eye in this interesting if rarely exciting history lesson, written by Jenny Mayhew and directed by Mike Barker in 2003.

Corin Redgrave (as Lord de Vere), Finbar Lynch, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Adrian Scarborough, Jeremy Swift, Steven Webb, Sam Spruell, Melissa Knatchbull (Lady Margaret), Jake Nightingale and the 27-year-old Benedict Cumberbatch in his first film (as a Royalist) are also in the cast.

Principal photography took place in England, filming in locations like Divinity School, Bodleian Library in Oxford, Kent’s Dover Castle (doubling as the Tower of London) and Kent’s Penshurst Place (King’s Chamber), as well as Harrow School, Ham House, Richmond (gardens used for encampment), Dorney Court, Buckinghamshire, Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, Midhurst, West Sussex, and Hampton Court Palace.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2120

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