Stage Beauty (2004)

A female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desedmona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?

Director:

Richard Eyre

Writers:

Jeffrey Hatcher (play), Jeffrey Hatcher (screenplay)

Stars:

Derek Hutchinson, Claire Danes, Billy Crudup

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Derek Hutchinson	...	Stage Manager
Mark Letheren	...	Male Emilia / Dickie
Claire Danes	...	Maria Hughes
Billy Crudup	...	Ned Kynaston
Tom Wilkinson	...	Thomas Betterton
Ben Chaplin	...	George Villiers II - Duke of Buckingham
Hugh Bonneville	...	Samuel Pepys
Jack Kempton	...	Call Boy
Alice Eve	...	Miss Frayne
Fenella Woolgar	...	Lady Meresvale
David Westhead	...	Harry
Nick Barber	...	Nick
Stephen Marcus	...	Thomas Cockerell
Richard Griffiths	...	Sir Charles Sedley
Zoë Tapper	...	Nell Gwynn

Storyline

Based in the 1660's of London's theaters, this film is about the rules of gender roles in theatre production, and means to change them for everyone's benefit. Ned Kynaston is the assumedly gay cross-dressing actor who has been playing female parts in plays for years, particularly Desdemona in Othello, he also has a close relationship with a member of the Royal Court, the Duke of Buckingham. One day however, the rules of only men playing women could change when aspiring actress Maria auditions as Kynaston's praised role, Desdemona, and soon enough, King Charles II decides to make the law that all female roles should be played only by women. Maria becomes a star, while Ned finds himself out of work. But after a while, Ned finds it in his nature to forgive Maria's aspiration, they may even fall in love, and Charles may proclaim women will be played by either gender.

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Plot Keywords:

theatre | actor | dresser | duke of buckingham | gender | 

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Taglines:

She was the first of her kind. He was the last of his.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

BBC Worldwide Ltd. [uk] Lions Gate Films

Country:

UK USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Belleza prohibida

Filming Locations:

Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$38,654 (USA) (8 October 2004)

Gross:

$776,691 (USA) (26 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Qwerty Films, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the movie starts out portraying the traditional Elizabethan style of acting on the stage (ie, stylized non-realistic acting), by the end of the movie, sequences on the stage are being performed in the style of realism (ie, what most people think of as modern acting), which was a style of acting not introduced until the 20th century.

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Goofs

When Samuel Pepys is telling Kynaston to play a man's role, Kynaston's lips are out of sync with his speech in some shots.

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Quotes

Sir Charles Sedley: Kynaston... It feels I've had the honour already.
Ned Kynaston: Or you've already had the honour of feeling it.
Sir Charles Sedley: Obviously I'm behind on my drinking.

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Connections

Referenced in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Billy Crudup (2004)

User Reviews

Sumptuous, passionate, raw - a gorgeous, romantic film

'Without beauty, there's nothing. Who could love that?' (Ned Kynaston, Stage Beauty)

Don't expect an elegant historical romp from Stage Beauty; it's much more than that. Director Richard Eyre (Iris) and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher have loosely interpreted true events to deliver a passionate, romantic journey of gender-bending self-realisation set in the bawdy world of the British Restoration, circa 1660.

In a time when women are banned from acting on stage, King Charles II is on the throne, accompanied everywhere by his vulgar but merry mistress, Nell Gwnn. Meanwhile Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is the most celebrated leading lady of his time. He is adored…by his audiences, by his lover and patron the Duke of Buckingham, and secretly loved by his dresser Maria (Claire Danes). But when aspiring actress Maria's illegal performance as Desdemona in Othello triggers royal permission for women to act on stage, Kynaston's fall from grace is swift.

This is an actors' film, where the talents of Danes and in particular, Crudup, shine. (Their remarkable relationship triggered an off-screen romance.) Crudup is taut as the bisexual Kynaston, trained to be a calamity and actress since early adolescence, and emotes powerfully as he struggles with his sexuality and identity in an unfriendly new political landscape. He is alternately a catty drag queen, angry young man and committed thespian, without ever straying beyond credibility. In contrast, Danes is luminous but unsure as Maria. A talented supporting cast includes Rupert Everett, providing comic relief as the languid King, while Ben Chaplin is sensual as the self-serving Duke.

Stage Beauty has been compared to Shakespeare in Love, but although it's less successful, it's far less contrived. Although Stage Beauty is a love story, you don't know how things will resolve. The pace is less brisk than in a more manufactured film, but it's also more realistic, enhanced by production design and costuming which depicts both the grit and the sumptuousness of the time.

While at first the on stage acting grates, it is deliberate. As Stage Beauty progresses, the acting technique evolves to resemble 19th Century Naturalism – not true to life, but faithful to the emotional journey of the characters. It's a special film that will take you on an emotional journey too.

**** out of ***** stars.