A Man for All Season (1966): Eitan's Take

Was Sir Thomas More a brilliant political dissident, or merely a valiant fool who waged a pointless fight against the King of England? Fred Zinnemann's fascinating, powerful film manages to address this question in a philosophical and complex way that More himself might have admired. The audience is never patronized or diminished by the proceedings; we are given complete credit as judges of Thomas More's conscience, and as arbiters of right and wrong in 16th century England. The film celebrates More's protest, but also allows for several interpretations: maybe More was just a cryptic and angry man, or perhaps he had a bizarre death wish. It is even possible to see him as a saint or a martyr. Most of all, Zinnemann lets More's unbelievable story breathe. It is a great credit to the director and playwright/screenwriter that they could capture the life of such a fascinating man.

Technically, the film is marvelous. The cinematography, especially, was rightly awarded an Oscar. rom the imaginative and fanciful shots of the British countryside to the dark interiors of More's jail cell in the Tower of London, Ted Moore captures the atmospheric essences of More's career -- the freedom of his early political and philosophical influence and the claustrophobia of his intellectually stifled years in prison. The set and production design is somewhat stagey, but it doesn't detract from the power of the story. And the dramatic pacing, executed flawlessly by Zinnemann, gives us a chance to evaluate the dark and unfortunate corners of every character.

Paul Scofield is impressive, of course, as the self-righteous/actually-righteous Thomas More, exposing all the virtues and neuroses of the great thinker. But leave it to Robert Shaw to steal the show... when his Henry VIII is on screen, puffing out his chest and bellowing about his right to a divorce, the whole film gains a few more horsepower. I wish he had more screen time; the film does drag at times, and we can always use more Captain Quinn to lighten things up.

I was thinking when I saw Revolutionary Road last week that the lives of these characters would be better if they just got a divorce. Of course, the same goes for A Man for All Seasons -- sometimes, you do just want to scream at the screen, "JUST LET YOUR OBNOXIOUS KING DITCH HIS UNLAWFUL WIFE, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE." But this film, which allows us to admire More as much as we question him, gives us the full dimensions of a political and religious conscience, and allows us to understand the steadfast philosophical roots of all who dare to oppose their governments. It is a film I admire more than I enjoyed, though, and it earns an 8/10