The King of Texas (2002)

The King of Texas (2002)

Dir. Uli Edel

Inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear (c.1603-06) but transposed to the US State and set in the year 1842. It's not entirely faithful to the play, and the language is modernised, but it'll be instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with the text.

Patrick Stewart leads the cast as John Lear, a cattle baron with 200,000 acres of land, an ornery disposition, and three daughters. When he makes the decision to divide his substantial holdings between them, he discovers their true character.

The acting is decent, considering it's a TV Movie, but Patrick's British accent is never far from the surface, which is distracting, given that he's supposed to be pure Texan, so much so that in the early parts of the movie it felt more like he was Captain Picard LARPing on the holodeck - a feeling that was compounded by the appearance of Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien) portraying the Duke of Albany. If you're not a Star Trek TNG fan, you might find it easier to adjust than I did.

The important themes and much of the symbolism is present and functions as it should, including birds and the ferocious storm on the Heath. The role of 'the fool' is given to one of the rich man's slaves (David Alan Grier), which added a commentary that was more than mere analogy.

It's nice that it doesn't require bard knowledge, but my favourite onscreen 'adaptation' of King Lear, in all respects, is still Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985), and I don't see that ever changing.