There’s something off about this movie. The latest from
Aussie director David Michôd is an adaptation of the Henriad, the classic canon
of Shakespearean works focusing on King Henry IV and V… and yet, it is a
remarkably loose adaptation. Written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, you’d have to
strain to hear any of the original prose in here. Even considering the lengthy
history of adaptations of the Bard, including Ophelia from earlier this year,
this seems like a backwards move. Why would you bother adapting a work of
fiction, which itself is based on historical fact, and leave behind the writing
that is the main reason why Shakespeare’s work survives to the present day?
Well, thankfully, there are quite a few answers to that, and all things
considered, I think these guys took the right approach.
