Does one write "SPOILER ALERT" on Shakespeare plays? I mean, wouldn't older historical plays kind of be an exception to that practice? Well, if not, then take for yourself a Spoiler Alert for the presentation/effects.
I didn't find time to read the play first (which I sometimes like to do with Shakespeare plays), but that was okay this time. David Bradley (the actor who plays Argus Filch in the Harry Potter movies) played the gardener, and Patrick Stewart played John of Gaunt. They played up the Richard II as Christ imagery, but I don't think it was in a "he's a Christ-figure" way as much as a "he thinks he is Christ" way. It wasn't too pushy with it, so it was easy to skim past it, most of the time; but it won't be hard to skim past if the movie were to be analyzed closely. : / This was my first contact with this play. Shakespeare does do quite well with presenting the "You treat the (original) King like this, and you've got trouble on your hands." A couple of border-line-gruesome moments--just look over you glasses to make the TV fuzzy, then they're over. Not sure if it was intentional (aka in Shakespeare's script), but staging one the "Richard II, I've got bad news for you" scene on the beach and in the surf was interesting, especially on a bright sunny day.
The sound of the coffin at the end grating across the marble floor is memorable. Nothing else about the sound stands out for me. But that wood coffin on that marble floor does. That's a moment.
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