Hollow Crown
So, I'm in a bit of a fix. If I read something totally engrossing, the flavor of that text ends up in my own. I don't mean it to happen but it does. So, for the short term at least while I'm cranking on this novel I'm trying to listen to my own tone and story rather than inadvertently copying anothers. I don't know if this is sustainable, but I'm trying. I've switched to non-fiction before bedtime reading, I'm staying away from vidja games, etc etc. But my brain is craving meaty story. So I picked up The Hollow Crown, which is the essential rendering of the Henriad.
We sat down to watch the first installment this week. Richard II in twoish hours. The tertiary stuff is good -- great locations, good costuming, excellent acting, inspired camera work save for one jarring scene.
I'd never read Richard II, though I am a giant fan of all incarnations of Richard III. Nothing like a thoughtful clever villain. So I went into the first episode more or less blind.
Holy. Shit.
There are two main character arcs, that of Richard and that of Henry. And they are profound. Richard is a douchebag King. Frilly and flighty and a pompous dick. Henry is samurai. Direct, open, loyal, martial. And they have mirrored paths - Richard declines and Henry ascends. But as Richard descends, holy shit, he transcends. The disaster of his loss renders him into this thoughtful figure. He cares, maybe for the first time, about the realm and those around him -- even, I'm convinced, his enemy. The director puts him in all sorts of messianic garb and postures, as well -- and that was a little overwrought for me, honestly. But the notion that this utter loss carves away all the bullshit in his life and leaves him better than he was took my breath away. Henry on the other hand, as he assumes power, decays in discipline and focus. He gets pushed around by members of the court. He questions himself and his thinking. He decides by virtue of "If I go this way and it's wrong I can undo it, but if I go the other way there's no going back." His internal compass spins. He was not meant for this, and though he's won power and title, he's lost.
There's this beautiful scene where the two Arcs meet in the middle of their journeys. Richard is forced to publicly abdicate, and it's intended to shame him, to rub his nose in the defeat. But it instead becomes this poignant and beautiful treatise on the human condition. Frailty, and gentleness, and kindness. So much so that when later, Henry stands over Richards body, he's affected. He laments for this man he brought down low. Their positions reversed utterly. Richard gone and Henry on the throne.
I was expecting a war story, and instead I get this quiet story about enlightenment and loss. It was beautiful.
Go check it out.
We sat down to watch the first installment this week. Richard II in twoish hours. The tertiary stuff is good -- great locations, good costuming, excellent acting, inspired camera work save for one jarring scene.
I'd never read Richard II, though I am a giant fan of all incarnations of Richard III. Nothing like a thoughtful clever villain. So I went into the first episode more or less blind.
Holy. Shit.
There are two main character arcs, that of Richard and that of Henry. And they are profound. Richard is a douchebag King. Frilly and flighty and a pompous dick. Henry is samurai. Direct, open, loyal, martial. And they have mirrored paths - Richard declines and Henry ascends. But as Richard descends, holy shit, he transcends. The disaster of his loss renders him into this thoughtful figure. He cares, maybe for the first time, about the realm and those around him -- even, I'm convinced, his enemy. The director puts him in all sorts of messianic garb and postures, as well -- and that was a little overwrought for me, honestly. But the notion that this utter loss carves away all the bullshit in his life and leaves him better than he was took my breath away. Henry on the other hand, as he assumes power, decays in discipline and focus. He gets pushed around by members of the court. He questions himself and his thinking. He decides by virtue of "If I go this way and it's wrong I can undo it, but if I go the other way there's no going back." His internal compass spins. He was not meant for this, and though he's won power and title, he's lost.
There's this beautiful scene where the two Arcs meet in the middle of their journeys. Richard is forced to publicly abdicate, and it's intended to shame him, to rub his nose in the defeat. But it instead becomes this poignant and beautiful treatise on the human condition. Frailty, and gentleness, and kindness. So much so that when later, Henry stands over Richards body, he's affected. He laments for this man he brought down low. Their positions reversed utterly. Richard gone and Henry on the throne.
I was expecting a war story, and instead I get this quiet story about enlightenment and loss. It was beautiful.
Go check it out.