Title: The Last King
Stars: Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves, Diana
Rigg, Helen McCrory, Ian McDiarmid, Shirley Henderson, and Emma Pierson
Writer: Adrian Hodges
Director: Joe Wright
Executive Producers For A&E Network:
Delia Fine and Emilio Nunez
Executive Producer For The BBC: Laura
Mackie
Running Time: 181 minutes without
commercials
Media: A&E Original Television Movie (NTSC
VHS Screener)
Premiere Sunday, March 21, 2004, at 8pm
(ET)/ 7(CT)
Network: A&E (Check your local
cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: TV-14-S
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Rufus Sewell (Helen Of Troy) stars as Charles II, the last King to rule over England without a Parliament and the last King of England to have converted to Christianity before his death. It is the latter half of the Seventeenth Century. Oliver Cromwell has died and Charles II has been invited to England to serve as the King. His power behind the throne is shared with Parliament while various intimate relationships among his mistresses produce illegitimate heirs for the throne. There is a deep paranoia over any Monarch ruling over the throne that has subjects that are confirmed Christians. During his reign, Charles II witnessed great religious intolerance, plagues, and the burning of London. While not all of these misfortunes were blamed on Christians, there is a fear that the King could be controlled indirectly by the Pope in Rome through his subjects, which makes Charles rule all the more difficult since it ultimately forced him to make decisions he tried to avoid because once set into motion they could not be undone during his lifetime. The ultimate fate of Charles II is bittersweet, but quite memorable. Charles II restored an interest in the arts after years of Puritanical censorship and he received as a gift from the Dutch, the colony of New Amsterdam, which he renamed after his brother, the Duke, and called it New York.
This A&E BBC co-production miniseries starts off a bit slow, but gradually builds up with intrigue. The cast includes Rupert Graves (The Madness Of King George), Diana Rigg (The Avengers), Martin Freeman (The Office), and Ian McDiarmid (The Star Wars Saga) and all are exceptional. While his role is not in the same capacity as his “Star Wars” counterpart, McDiarmid’s character’s role as Sir Edward Hyde, the advisor to Charles II still carries a similar tone. The costumes and production design are quite lavish too. Rufus Sewell manages to add great dimension in his performance as Charles II so that viewers never lose sympathy for him and even feel a sense of admiration for him by the film’s end.
“The Last King” will
make it’s American television premiere on A&E on Sunday, March 21, 2004,
at 8pm (ET)/ 7pm (CT) with a full four hour (including commercials) broadcast.
This will be the first A&E original movie to be presented in a letterboxed
format too. Check your local cable and satellite television listings for the
appropriate channel.
© Copyright 2004 By
Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.