Becket

1964
Directed By: Peter Glenville

Cast:

Peter O'Toole - King Henry II
Richard Burton - Thomas a Becket
John Gelgud - King Louis VII of France


Thomas a Becket, the second most powerful man in England is not even of Royal Blood - in a time when what lineage you came from meant what status you held. On the contrary he was a Saxon - a group that was defeated by the Normans when they invaded England. At the time of the plots setting a generation has past but there is still hatred and distrust of both groups by each other. Becket wasn't just an "ordinary" Saxon, however, he was the kings friend and most trusted advisor. Beket was smart, cunning and wise where King Henry II, played by Peter O' Toole is little more than an overgrown winey adolescent. I hope this is the description of the character becasuse O' Toole plays this part so well. We know that he knows that he is king and we fear that is all he knows.
Becket is so trusted by the king that he is given the official seal of England. He does his job well, almost too well and King Henry - seeing that there is no one else that he can trust, or at the very least think like him, makes Beket the Archbishop of Canturbury with the idea that the church will now be on his side. Beket is many things but if there is one thing he is not, he is not somebody's man. He is a persuer of truth and most of all honor - what honor had been up that point had come in the form of serving his "prince." This had left him empty though and now entrusted with serving a greater cause - that being God's - he throws everything he has into this new role. It seems though one can serve only God or Country and not both.
Richard Burton plays his role a little stiffly. There isn't much show of emotion. Though that may be in keeping with character I thought that it was still a little overdone. On the other hand there must be some balance to cantakerous King Henry. Besides a few seens, the acting isn't too theatrical that it becomes burdensome.
What is central to grasp though is not so much the acting but the relationship between the title characters of Beket and King Henry. Like two sides of the same coin they opperate like a well oiled machine when working together. When they are opposed the country divides itself. Both are freinds but both also see that they have higher obligations - one to God and the other to Country. They are thrust into their roles by forces which they have no control over and if they had lived as any other class we would expect that they could grow old together being the best of freinds. The film does the best job of shedding light on this conflict.
2 1/2 stars