Monarch (2000)

Shortly before his death in 1547, the injured King Henry VIII is forced to take refuge a manor house closed for the season. While there, he must confront both his mortality and the ghosts of his past.

Director:

John Walsh

Writer:

John Walsh

Stars:

T.P. McKenna, Jean Marsh, James Coombes

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
T.P. McKenna	...	Henry VIII
Jean Marsh	...	The Queens
James Coombes	...	Thorn
Peter Sowerbutts
George Staines
Peter Miles	...	Courtier
Mark Montgomerie

Storyline

Monarch is part fact, part fiction and unfolds around one night when the injured ruler arrives at a manor house closed for the season. Henry is without the power and control of his palace and is vulnerable from those around him, and from his own sanity. Henry left England financially and morally bankrupt; his collection of enemies his only constant. Even today there is a question mark surrounding his burial and possible exhumation.

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Plot Keywords:

king | england | monarch | heritage | royalty | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has been re-mastered from the original 35mm color camera negative after it was discovered in a vault almost 20 years after it was originally filmed.

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Connections

Referenced in Monarch Restoring a King (2014)

User Reviews

Henry A Portait of a Serial Monarch!

Monarch is an impressive debut for BAFTA winning documentary director John Walsh. At first appearance this looks like a run of the mill costume drama, but the sparse location careful lighting and efficient use of money and sound effects brings an eerie quality to a film, which although shot on a low budget, does not fall into the trap many of Walsh's peers appear to have in recent years. Brit gangster flicks are almost a prerequisite for a British directorial debut these days. Opting for this historical retelling of one night in the life of Henry VIII shortly before his death John Walsh has managed to convey a grand story of a dying King in an intimate and poignant way, with a few chills along the way.

Much of the sparseness can be attributed to the low budget yet this simply adds to the tension and feeling of emptiness in a Monarch who as lived with excess. Lighting and music are both careful and complex. The camera is confident a brave in many sequences allowing the story to unfold rather than driving the camera and Walsh avoids the hand-held horror of most first time feature directors, opting for a more considered and Kubrick like composition of each shot.

Lighting by ex-Kubrick alumni Ray Andrew (camera operator on The Shinning) heightens the sense of a dark, damp historical past. You can almost smell the damp, yet the lighting and careful flesh tones and Walsh's composition is reminiscent of painter Caravaggio.

The support players are good here too, feeling as through they have been at the court of Henry for some years are themselves ready to give up the ghost. Female cheaters are sparse here but their impact is powerful. Jean March from "Willow" and "Upstairs, Downstairs" impresses as a ghostly amalgam of Henry's past wives. Walsh has brought new life to an up to now, well trodden piece of English history.

The plot is simple yet effective. A grand house closed for the season when one night the injured ruler is brought in and slumps by the grand fireplace. Henry is without the power and control of his palace and is vulnerable from those around him, and from his own sanity.

TP McKenna towers as Henry VIII with on screen chemistry of the Jean Marsh putting a chill down the spine of most viewers. It is somewhat of a shame that little gems like this are not given a wider viewing. I look forward to what John Walsh can next offer up.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2014 (UK)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walsh Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min (DVD)

Color:

Color