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Charles II aka The Last King: The Power and Passion of Charles II Print Media Reviews

Mini Series Review in 2019 – Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003)

On November 23, 2019May 17, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

A Compelling Political Soap Opera

by Brittany | Silver Petticoat Review | November 23, 2019

ABOUT KING CHARLES II

England’s King Charles II occupied the throne during a fascinating time in the nation’s history. During the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell’s rule, his father was beheaded, and Charles was exiled.

After Cromwell’s death, Charles II returned to England as its’ king. Charles II reversed many of the rules implemented by Cromwell’s government. He also continued his father’s battle with the English Parliament. The years of his reign are known as The Restoration. Charles II: The Power and the Passion presents a portrait of this multi-faceted historical figure.

REVIEW

Charles II: The Power and the Passion is an apt title for this mini-series which splits its focus between Charles’ personal affairs and political battles.

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Why I was wrong to doubt the mighty melodrama of MotherFatherSon

On March 27, 2019May 19, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

All about passion and tears

by Sarah Hughes | March 27, 2019 | The Guardian

When Helen McCrory launched into a monologue about a dead seal I nearly lost hope, but the family saga has won me over with its pure, jaw-dropping emotion

Warning: this piece contains spoilers for MotherFatherSon

Before MotherFatherSon began I thought I had some idea what to expect. It was written by Tom Rob Smith, creator of London Spy and The Assassination of Gianni Versace. It starred Richard Gere as a millionaire media mogul, Helen McCrory as his estranged wife and Billy Howle as their troubled, cocaine-addled son.

MotherFatherSon Print Media Reviews

MotherFatherSon: Richard Gere is subtly Machiavellian but Helen McCrory is positively regal

On March 6, 2019May 18, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

McCrory is simply excellent as Gere’s on-screen wife

by Guy Pewsey | March 6, 2019 | The Evening Standard

Standout star: Helen McCrory shines in the BBC’s new thriller / BBC Picture Archives / Steve Schofield

Quite the casting coup, to secure Richard Gere for the latest BBC drama.

The American actor has true Hollywood star status through roles in films including Pretty Woman, An American Gigolo and Primal Fear. Usually, we’re rooting for him, the silver fox with the undeniable charm. It’s refreshing, then, to find him tackling less familiar territory at the centre of a thriller where we may get a glimpse of what could be sharp fangs beneath his kilowatt smile.

Gere is Max, an American media mogul who owns newspapers and TV channels across the globe, including The National Reporter in the UK, where his son, Caden, is editor. When your primary asset is information, you hold remarkable influence, and with the UK on the verge of a general election, Max flies to London to weigh up his options. His decision comes down to more than putting a cross beside a name: the person he anoints, the one he blesses with positive coverage and exposure, could be the one to lead the country.

Fearless Reviews

Fearless Review – Helen McCrory Shines in a Fabulously Classy Thriller

On June 13, 2017April 27, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

In this first episode, a number of balls are chucked gleefully into the air – and we may all need notebooks to keep track

Lucy Mangan | June 13, 2017 | The Guardian

Passion, intelligence and assiduity … Helen McCrory in Fearless. Photograph: ITV

If I didn’t know Fearless (ITV) was written by one of the writers and producers of the likes of Homeland, 24, and Person of Interest – Patrick Harbinson – I would be slightly worried about the number of balls that had been chucked gleefully into the air by the end of the first episode in its six-part run. To wit:

1. A human rights lawyer (Emma Banville, played with characteristic passion, intelligence and assiduity by Helen McCrory), whose speciality is uncovering miscarriages of justice, is being persecuted by the tabloids, who claim she is hellbent on setting “paedos” free.

2. Whose latest case involves investigating the possibly unsafe conviction of Kevin Russell, a man who has been in prison for 14 years for the murder of schoolgirl Linda Simms. He says his confession was coerced, and Emma – by the remarkably simple means of getting the autopsy report looked at by a scientist not in the police’s pocket and finding therein a whole lot of stuff that simply Does Not Add Up – quickly secures a retrial.

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Print Media Reviews The Deep Blue Sea

The Deep Blue Sea Review: Helen McCrory blazes in passionate revival

On June 9, 2016April 13, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

Terence Rattigan’s powerful portrait of emotional turmoil in postwar Britain is beautifully played – if only the sound effects weren’t so disruptive

Michael Billington | June 9, 2016 | The Guardian

Intemperate feelings … Tom Burke and Helen McCrory in The Deep Blue Sea. Photograph: Richard Hubert Smith

Terence Rattigan’s best play has been long overdue for revival at the National. Fortunately, it gets an impassioned production by Carrie Cracknell that illuminates Rattigan’s psychological understanding and boasts a shining performance from Helen McCrory. Its only blemish is an intrusive sound score that suggests the characters are living not in west London in the 1950s but on the edge of Krakatoa during its eruption in the 1880s.

On a happier note, Tom Scutt’s design follows the example of the 1993 Almeida revival in creating a grey-green apartment block, with transparent walls, that reminds us that Rattigan’s play offers us a microcosm of 1950s England. The focus is palpably on Hester Collyer, a judge’s wife who has sacrificed ease and comfort to live with Freddie Page, a boyish war hero who cannot meet her emotional needs and who has no place in the modern world.

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