Becket Reviews

Though based on the play based on the life of Thomas Becket, this film encapsulates much more than that. It's a story of being true to one self, and standing fast to your beliefs, no matter the cost.

Viewers take note this not an action film by any means but if drama is more your style or something you're willing to look into, start here. Burton and O'Toole perform their roles wonderfully in a classic that will have you thinking long after the screen fades.

Honestly, I have never heard of this movie before but since I'm a huge fan of Peter O'Toole, I still wanted to check it out. On the other hand, I can't say I knew much Richard Burton and I was more acquainted with his tumultuous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor than his work. Anyway, these two guys were just amazing in this movie. Indeed, they provided such great performances, it was just quite impressive. This movie was actually an adaptation of a play written by a French dude called Jean Anouilh who wrote many plays such as 'Antigone'. Apparently, Anouilh didn't care much about historical accuracy but he sure was able to write some fascinating characters. Indeed, the king and his best 'friend' were some of the most spellbinding fictional creatures I have ever encountered. I mean, they were smart, ambitious, arrogant, fun, reprehensible, friends, enemies and many other things. This story was also filled with some homo-erotic tones, just to add even more ambiguity to the whole thing. It is quite remarkable that even though the movie lasts about 150 minutes and even though you basically just have those two men talking to each other, it was really spellbinding to watch. To conclude, I really loved this movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.