KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD

Charlie Hunman     Jude Law     Djimon Hounsou     Eric Bana     Astrid Berges-Frisbey     Aiden Gillen

      Do we need another movie about the Arthurian Legend?  Apparently, Guy Ritchie thinks so, because he has helped write and has directed this movie about the origins of King Arthur.  After opening scenes of intrigue and murder (which are only clear much later in the film), we see Arthur as a street kid brought up in a brothel, unaware of his lineage.  When his father, King Uther (Bana) realizes that he is in mortal danger from Uther’s brother, Vortigan (Law), who covets the crown, he secrets the child away in a boat, covered with furs.  When the boat arrives to its destination, the women in the brothel scurrying for furs find him underneath, and adopt him as their own.

     Arthur is a scrappy street kid, bullied but never bowed, and eventually gets in enough trouble that he is confronted by a sword in a stone near the palace of King Vortigan.  Unbeknownst to him, Vortigan, knowing he has a nephew who is heir to the crown, has done two things.  He conscripts all young boys to serve in his army so he can gain their ultimate loyalty.  He also knows that the Excalibur sword, lodged between two large stones, can only be withdrawn by the heir to the British throne, e.g., his nephew.  All young men visiting his castle are required try to pull out the sword so Vortigan can identify his potential challenger.

     Mixed into the story is a mage (Berges-Frisbey) who guides the reluctant Arthur to his rightful place.  She has special powers that can bring on a host of crows to attack the enemy, snakes that can prove the worthiness of Arthur for royalty, and so on.  But Arthur is probably the most reluctant hero in the history of literature.  Even after he successfully pulls Excalibur out of the stone he eschews being lauded for it and must be reminded continually by the mage that he has a calling that cannot be denied.  She has considerable powers, but in the end, she has to say that only until Arthur sees its importance to him on his own, will the sword be viable.

     Ritchie has produced an extravaganza that is redolent with medieval history and lore, and the special effects used to enhance the mythological experience are achieved by John Mathieson, cinematographer, production designer Gemma Jackson, and other technological specialists.  Some aspects of the film are not apparent in their value/meaning, such as the firings into the air that produce black clouds, and the mage not being able to save herself when a knife is on her throat, yet is able to overcome huge attacking armies.  She doesn’t have the power simply to fly away?

    If you’re comfortable with the Arthur character looking and sounding like a regular American good guy, you are likely going to praise Hunman’s performance as Arthur.  And I certainly laud his acting ability, but I think the role called for a more British kind of hero who does not look/sound so American.  That kept taking me out of the medieval mood of the film.  I also thought Jude Law was miscast as the villain Vortigan; he doesn’t convey sufficient evil for that character.  He is much more effective in the recent TV production, “The Young Pope”, where he is a bit devilish and unconventional.  Astrid Berges-Frisbey is spot-on as the mage, an occult seer to guide the naïve Arthur toward his destiny.  Aiden Gillen, Eric Bana, and Djimon Hounsou are first-rate actors who add considerably to the vision of this film. 

Of interest to those who do not tire of Arthurian tales.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE FINEST HOURS

Chris Pine     Casey Affleck     Ben Foster     Eric Bana

          The rescue boat for a sinking ocean liner ends up without a compass during the mission, and most of the audience could use a similar guide in order to understand what is going on in The Finest Hours.  Perhaps those with a Boston/New England accent will comprehend more, but unless they are familiar with nautical terms and have sharp ears for dialog over the cacophony of special effects sounds, I think they too will be mystified at least part of the time. 

         We get acquainted right away with Bernie Webber (Pine) and his friend Richard Livesay (Foster) as members of the Coast Guard in Massachusetts.  They’re easygoing and likeable, and Bernie has a reputation for going by the book.  He finds it easy to be polite and respectful of his elders and his superior, Captain Daniel Cluff (Bana), a man not well respected by the Coast Guard crew, who doubt his judgment.

           This is exemplified by his order for Webber to put together at great risk a rescue team on a 36-foot boat when a brutal nor’easter strikes and oilers at sea are sinking, one in particular being the Pendleton.  Chief Engineer Ray Sybert (Affleck) is on that ship, and since all the commanding officers were on the part of the ship broken off by hurricane strength winds and stormy seas, his knowledge of sailing makes him the effective leader.

          The Finest Hours is based on a true story written down by Michael Tougias and Casey Sherman in a book with the same title.  Even a small sample of their clearly written prose pulls the reader in immediately and sustains his/her attention.  The movie, The Finest Hours suffers from the screenwriters (Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson) and Director Craig Gillespie not realizing that a naïve audience is not going to understand the technical terms that are indistinctly shouted out, even if they could hear them over the din of the rushing sea, howling winds, clanking of huge chains, and motor sounds.  We do get some of the heroics of the Webber and Sybert characters—remarkable with the Doubting Thomases surrounding them—but not to the extent that makes it clear what is happening in a scene.  Inserting some explanations along the way—perhaps voiced by other characters—would have been helpful.

          Instead, the script calls for the insertion of a rather silly love story with the female character clearly being drawn from male concepts of what a “strong” woman would do (e.g., propose to a man, think that she could cheekily appeal to a captain on an emotional basis, and then flounce off in a huff, leaving her coat and gloves behind during a winter storm!).  Of course, this character (unfortunately for the actress, Holliday Grainger) ends up being rather unlikeable. 

          The Finest Hours is in 3D, but I couldn’t see that it made that much of a difference.  Carter Burwell’s music and Javier Aguirresarobe’s cinematography do elevate the presentation of this film.

A film primarily for northeastern sea lovers; for the rest of us, it’s mainly continuous howling winds and stormy seas.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland