King of Texas (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers (WGA):

William Shakespeare (play)
Stephen Harrigan (teleplay)

Release Date:

2 June 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Between land and power lies the frontier of greed... the saga of family... the heart of drama.

Plot:

In this adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, self-made ranch tycoon John Lear divides his holdings among his daughters but finds that once they have his property, they reject him.

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare's King Lear | Texas | Cattle | Aging | Rancher

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	John Lear
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Mrs. Susannah Lear Tumlinson
Lauren Holly	...	Mrs. Rebecca Lear Highsmith
Roy Scheider	...	Henry Westover
David Alan Grier	...	Rip
Colm Meaney	...	Mr. Tumlinson
Patrick Bergin	...	Mr. Highsmith
Matt Letscher	...	Emmett Westover
Liam Waite	...	Thomas Westover
Steven Bauer	...	Menchaca
Julie Cox	...	Claudia Lear
Richard Lineback	...	Warnell
Lynne Goulet	...	Dancer
Memo Escobedo	...	Cowboy
Clint Allen	...	Cowboy

Also Known As:

Boss Lear (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

Brazil:95 min | USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Flying Freehold Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of King Lear (1982) (TV)

Only Shakespeare ever did it better

This short treatment does well in general by the story and by the characters. The characters have a certain frontier eloquence and it isn't till John Lear goes mad-- a bit too suddenly-- that you really miss Shakespeare's poetry. The script tries to compensate for the lack of weight in the storm scene by introducing a more pedestrian revelation: Lear comes to understand that peace is better than fighting. Well, duh.

On the positive side, we have sisters who are a little better motivated and less one-dimensionally monstrous than we're accustomed to and we have an interesting back-story (with an echo of the Biblical daughters of Zelophehad) in which Lear had intended his son to be heir but the son died in battle leaving only daughters to inherit.

Somehow we manage to meet a pretty full cast of characters, and they all seem natural occupants of free Texas, where the inhospitable desert separates warring ranches the way Shakespeare's heath separated the little fiefdoms. The story unfolds quite naturally too, with a creditable amount of the original complexity preserved.

The main weakness is the musical score, routine at best where the Texan setting provided the opportunity for something more distinctive and memorable.