King Lear is a 2018 British-American television film directed by Richard Eyre. It is an adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson and Florence Pugh.
The movie also features Jim Broadbent, Jim Carter, Anthony Calf.
The story is set in an alternative universe in the 21st-century; in a highly militarised London, the sovereign and military dictator King Lear gathers his family in the presence of his troops to make arrangements for his will and he announces the division of his kingdom among his three daughters.
The two elder daughters, Regan and Goneril, declare loyalty to the sovereign while the youngest of the sisters, Cordelia, fails in her filial flattery and is disowned and ousted from the inheritance, which is now entirely divided between Regan and Goneril and she will have to rely only on his own devices to survive.
Later Goneril will accuse her father of dotage.
Anthony Hopkins is brilliant and mesmerizing in his performance, his monologues are overwhelming and touching, he careens from furious to sentimental, his madness is imbued with humanity and vulnerability.
Emma Thompson is stunning as the ambitious Goneril, and her presence gives luster and elegance to the film.
Emma and Tony demonstrate once again how well they work together.
Emma said of Anthony Hopkins’ performance “I will never see a better Lear, I know that. I will die not having seen anyone do it better.”
I love Emma Thompson 