A Man For All Seasons - Fred Zinnemann (1966)
Thomas More may be a man for all seasons, but I'm not sure Fred Zinnemann is a director for all stories. In a film like Day of the Jackal, where the sound of a latch clicking shut or the slight movement of a curtain against the breeze has life and death consequences, his austere presentation is a perfect compliment. Small but important details loom large on his otherwise barren cinemascape. In that film we love the microphones for their omnipresence. However when it comes to the story of Henry the VIII seeking a divorce, those same details loom large but lack importance. Shoes shuffling on the floor, a cloak ruffles as a man sits, oars clunking in their oarlocks... we hear it all with perfect clarity and it makes the film exceedingly noisy. We have little choice but to listen as Zinnemann's style dictates that there be no other distractions. He seems determined that there should only be one or two active elements in a scene. If there is music there will be no dialogue. If the characters are in motion, the camera will be still. All is well provided there is a character speaking, which is often, but when the dialogue stops it is like listening to someone eat popcorn in a quiet theatre. Nothing masks the general clamour. It makes for a very raw, stage-like presentation and never quite engages me fully.
My familiarity with this bit of history comes by way of Wolf Hall (the TV series), which is very much the other side of the coin. It was interesting now to see More painted in a more heroic light, and not as a stubborn, heartless villain. Both tellings do little to paint their respective antagonists in a sympathetic light, so I found little to be conflicted about in either case. More feels on firmer ground than Cromwell morally, but those morals exist in an absurd political structure so I found conflict existed in appreciating him for being principled but disliking the foundations of principles on which he stood.
The performances are quite fiery, which is something I often enjoy. Here in this style though the sound is raw and the voices make me wince. There is something anemic about it all and the atmosphere it creates. That is not a quality unique to this film... perhaps I am taking particular issue with it here because it is so contrary to the grandeur of the kings and popes and castles and courthouses which populate the story. It's has the ambition to be an epic (or something near to it), but not the style to convince me it is one.
There were a handful of interactions throughout the film that I enjoyed... all of them featuring Thomas More. His way is fair and just. Sometimes he can be downright Vulcanesque, but usually he's more pleasant than that. I liked him.
Not a completely successful presentation for my tastes, but I appreciated the story it was telling.