RESTORATION
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: This is a throwback to the historical
epics of the 40s and 50s. The story is an
enjoyable if overly-contrived potboiler. But the
historical texture, the spectacle, and the costumes
are most of the show. The minor weaknesses in the
plotting are more than made up for by the terrific
visualizations. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4)
On January 30, 1649, Charles I of England, who had earlier lost his fight to restrict the power of Parliament, paid the price and was beheaded. England was in the hands of the Parliamentarians. Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan who commanded the New Model Army remained as unbeatable as Charles I had found him. Cromwell took control of the government making himself essentially a dictator. He went on and within months subdued the rebellious Ireland. Charles I's son, who had been crowned Charles II of Scotland, raised an army to invade England, but he was beaten back by Cromwell's army. In another victory Cromwell presided over a successful war with the Netherlands. But now the dictator needed money to finance his victories. To get it he reversed a ruling of Edward I (see my review of BRAVEHEART) and allowed Jews back into England to get their financial support.
When Cromwell died on September 3, 1658, there was nobody worthy to replace him and his son Richard was the nobody worthy who was chosen. To have a continuation of the harsh Puritanical rule of a Cromwell and the lack of leadership that Richard offered brought discontent throughout England. It did not take much of Richard Cromwell's rule to make Charles II of Scotland look like a natural leader. Charles II was given the throne of England on assurances that he would take no revenge for his father's death and would allow religious freedom for England. With the return of the monarchy to England begins the period called the Restoration.
Thus we have an England that was still ravaged from the Civil War. And it still has bitter conflict between severe Puritans and more free-living and perhaps even decadent followers of the two Charles Stuarts. In spite of continuing conflicts the Restoration was the time of great cultural landmarks in English history. Milton wrote "Paradise Lost." Social philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were publishing. King Charles had a particular interest in science and chartered the Royal Society of London to do scientific research. Isaac Newton was 19 when Charles returned and was doing his early work. When the Great Plague struck London with its full force in April of 1665 Newton fled to his mother's farm and there worked out the laws of gravitation. Meanwhile over 50,000 people in London died of the pestilence. Luckily he was still out of London 17 months later when a bakery fire broke out near London Bridge and engulfed a street of vulnerable wood houses. Fanned by east winds the inferno continued to spread and burn for four days until much of the city had been consumed. Even with a large piece of the city leveled, an estimated 13,000 houses, enough to make 100,000 people homeless, Charles could not convince property owners to rebuild along lines planned by master architect Christopher Wren and Charles had to settle for Wren's redesign of St. Paul's Cathedral. I is in this Restoration England that the story of RESTORATION is set.
Robert Merivale (Robert Downey Jr.) and John Pearce (David Thewlis) are close friends who are very similar but very different. Both are promising medical students, but for John successes come only through hard work and a dedication that is well in keeping with his stern Quaker background. Robert has more of a genius for medicine, or would if he would ever stop partying. One day Robert is called to court in a personal mission of healing by Charles II (Sam Neill). While there his womanizing is noticed by Charles. Charles is looking for a nominal and platonic husband for his mistress Celia (Polly Walker). Once she is married he can continue his affair with her while she is still under a cloak of respectability. Along with this non-wife wife Robert is given a house and lands and a pension. But then the plot takes the obvious turn with Robert falling in love with his for- show wife Celia. Luckily this complication leads to others which turn what was a rather bland situation comedy in an interesting setting into another story entirely that affords a much better view of Restoration England.
Yes, the story does improve as it goes along but the one factor that remains constant is that the story is never so interesting as to avoid being upstaged by the detailed and beautifully filmed setting. Michael Hoffman, whose best known film to date was SOAPDISH, manages to bring in a sumptuous look at mid-17th Century England at a surprisingly small budget of $18.5 million. The budget is in large part helped by having cinematographer Oliver Stapleton use relatively close shots of nearly every fancy scene. This only occasionally gives a feeling of constriction and probably saves immensely on costs. Rupert Walters's screenplay based on the novel by Rose Tremain moves the story at a pace that never drags and allows the action to bring the audience to a surprising number interesting places, yet never occupies the viewer too much to look for the detail at the sides of the frame. The film is a study in contrasts. We go back and forth from the pleasureless work of the Quakers to the workless pleasures of life in Charles's court. We see people who are all style and no substance and styleless people of great substance.
In spite of the low budget, one has to look a fair distance down the cast list to find unfamiliar names. David Thewlis is very good as the dedicated and serious friend and colleague though he carries some baggage from his skin-crawling role in NAKED. Polly Walker of ENCHANTED APRIL and PATRIOT GAMES makes a fetching mistress. Also present are Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen (currently starring in RICHARD III), and of course Hugh Grant.
For those who like films that show them a bit of a different world and a different time, this film should be a pleasant surprise. I give it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
For fans of historical films wanting to expand their film experience and learn about the period, there is a terrific Worldwide Web site for this film at http://www.obs-us.com/obs/english/films/mx/rest/top.htm with great links to original source material about the Restoration. This is what the Web was made for. I just hope it remains around long enough for the readers of this review to who want to have an opportunity access it.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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