It’s a dubious honour for a film to be voted, as it was by Phoenix film critics, the most overlooked film of the year. But by the time Richard Eyre’s film got to Phoenix, it was already struggling in the wake of Shakespeare in Love, which pretty much ticked everyone’s literary/period box for a while. That’s a pity because Stage Beauty is an unusually literate drama which has a cool take on the war between the sexes.
Based on the play Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher, the subject is the ban on women performing on-stage during their reign of King Charles II (Rupert Everett). The talented Maria (Claire Danes) works backstage, but knows she could take the spotlight, which is otherwise occupied by Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup), whose female impersonation makes him an ideal Desdemona for Othello. When the King’s attitudes are changed, albeit not for any noble reason, Maria’s career flourishes while Ned’s languishes in the doldrums; the pattern of A Star is Born offers a few amusing parallels.
Support is top drawer, with Edward Fox dispensing a couple of choice lines, Tom Wilkinson as Othello (‘I’m not actually black’ he confesses to little attention), Tom Hollander, Ben Chaplin, Alice Eve and Hugh Bonneville making up the backbone of a strong starting eleven. Stage Beauty has quite a pedigree, a BBC production with Robert De Niro amongst the producers, and maybe it proved too highbrow for the masses, yet it’s romantic, acerbic and has something interesting to say about how men perceive women and vice versa.
Eyre is seen as something of a national treasure in the UK, and yet his two best films (this and The Ploughman’s Lunch) are arguably his least celebrated. And while Homeland has made Danes a deserved household name, Crudup is awards-worthy in his performance, utterly convincing as a female impersonator. He’s an agile, under-rated actor, always just off the front rank, who really shouldn’t be overlooked by critics or audiences for this kind of peerless work. This is a classy, super-smart film that’s been scandalously overlooked until now; hopefully that will change soon, but getting an proper streaming release would help.
Now this does sound interesting. Don’t think it got much a release first time out. But Eyre is under-rated and has done some excellent work. The gender elements should mean more to a contemporary audience.
Yup, I’d be interested enough to look at the play. Just one of these instances where two similar films came out, and one stole all the thunder. Milos Foreman’s Valmont would be a similar example.
Yes, Valmont was hardly seen. That problem occurred on a bigger scale, too – Deep Impact and Armageddon but avoided with Towering Inferno where studios joined forces rather than compete.
Shame this seems to be streaming only, would be a good Monday matinee, lots to engage.
I will probably seek it out. Bound to be a DVD out there somewhere.
Hadn’t heard of this and I really like the two main actors, found a cheap 2nd hand DVD of it which is winging its way to me so a big Yep! Cheers!
Is the correct answer, I’m a big fan of Crudup and Danes, and they have tonnes of proper acting to do here. An unheralded film that barely saw the light of day, and it’s a bummer this isn’t on Prime or Netflix…
Yes, I had to fork out money for it! Billy Crudup is such a good actor but seems to fly under the radar, at least my radar. I spotted him in Mission Impossible 111 recently and only just recognised him. Clare Danes is just amazing.
I stopped watching at Mission Impossible 106….
Haha there’s only 8, so far, 9th on the way I suspect. Review coming up for a couple of them on Monday!
That’ll be an exclusive, thought they were still making the 7th…
Yeah it’s all hush hush. The 7th and 8th are really in the can but they don’t want to swamp the market you know. That’s the 9th they’re doing now. Tom keeps me updated.
I’ve got a letter from Tom, plan to share it soon!
Is that as good a fib as mine was?
It’s REAL!
A real fib?
A real letter from your pal Tom.
Ah right. Mine was a real fib.
I guess I’ll have to dig it out and photograph it. Pics or it didn’t happen.
It would be cool to see it, but you could just type out it’s contents, I’d believe it.
I had it stuck on a pin/notice board, won’t have thrown it out. Don’t get many letters from Tom.
Not surprising, he’s a busy boy hanging out of helicopters and suchlike, can’t be easy to write a letter as well.
I’m surprised he sent it by post as well, ‘‘twas in 2002, email was standard by then…
I’m surprised he knew your address. Still he works for the IMF so I shouldn’t be really.
International Monetary Fund?
Nope.
Ipswich Mental Health Foundation?
TBH I forget but I know I wrote it in my movie review coming out on Monday so we can find out then.
Inverness Mountain Funicular.
Intermediate Muppetry Farrago.