Christmas With the Plantagenets

With the yuletide season upon us, I thought it appropriate to write a little something about one of my favorite Christmas movies. However, before we get to heart of the matter, there's something I want to make clear:
The way I see it a Christmas movie can usually be slot into one of two categories. In the first category, we have movies that incorporate the themes and meanings of the Holiday. You know, "goodwill to all men" and all that jazz. The second category consists of movies which simply happens to take place during the Holiday. The movie which is the subject of this post, belong in the later category (there's very little, if any, goodwill to be found in it) and if you happen to look at the title of the post and immediately guessed The Lion In Winter, then congratulations; you were right.

For those of you not familiar with it, The Lion In Winter is a 1968 movie  based on a play by James Goldman (brother of William, author of The Marathon Man), directed by Anthony Harvey and featuring such actors as Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Antony Hopkins (in his film debut) and Timothy Dalton, among others.

So, what's the film about? Well, its 1183 and Henry II has summoned the rest of England's royal family; his scheming wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their three surviving sons, Richard, Geoffrey and John, to his residence in Chinon, Anjou. Also present are Henry's lover, Alais and her brother Philip II, king of France.
Ten years earlier, Henry's and Eleanor's oldest son, also named Henry had, with the help of Richard and Geoffrey rebelled against his father. Eleanor was the brains behind the rebellion and as punishment, Henry II has kept her in house arrest, only letting her out on certain special occasions, such as Christmas. With the younger Henry having passed away, England is left without an heir. Henry favors John, the youngest who did not take part in the rebellion, but Eleanor is determined to have her favorite Richard, inherit the throne.

That's the basic gist of it. I should point out that while the characters and their relationships with one another are (somewhat) historically accurate, the plot is entirely fictional. Not that it matters; The Lion in Winter isn't really a history lesson, but rather a family drama and at that, it excels. The plot of the movie is gripping with its many schemes and betrayals carried out by its fascinatingly wicked characters, all of whom are wonderfully brought to life by the cast of highly talented actors, with O'Toole and Hepburn being the obvious stand-outs. In addition, The Lion in Winter also features some of the best dialogue I've ever heard in a movie,  with lines ranging from hilariously wicked and snarky to genuinely moving. I can safely say that this is among the most quotable movies I've ever had the pleasure to watch.