Burton & Taylor

Already twice married and divorced, this doesn’t exactly scream the best match made in heaven and yet Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) is eager for her and her ex-husband Richard Burton (Dominic West) to take on a stage play together; Noel Coward’s Private Lives. The news of their upcoming reunion naturally sends the media into a frenzy, and anticipation is running high for what is to become the theatre-going event of a lifetime. The ticket prices are of course on the pricey side, but no matter, since this is Burton and Taylor, a legendary, unmatchable pairing famous both for their professional careers as well as their tempestuous personal lives. The performances sell out, and the pressure is on to put on an outstanding show to do their names justice. What Lifetime couldn’t do, BBC could, and from the get-go you can tell this is going to be a wholly different, much better film about the Hollywood couple. Comparing Helena Bonham Carter to Lindsay Lohan in an insult in itself, and it’s no surprise to see that Carter is a much better Elizabeth Taylor than Lohan can ever dream of being. She walks and talks with charisma and confidence, in her care-free, diva-like attitude towards work: she doesn’t even read the play before rehearsals as she wants to keep things fresh and original. She doesn’t know her lines, her cues, and therefore the rehearsals take absolutely forever to complete. This of course, does not sit well with Burton, who has a much more rigid, thorough process, a meticulous perfectionist especially when it comes to performing live on stage in front of his many admirers. West, although looking a lot healthier than Burton did during that time period, is still a brutish acting force who cannot be ignored. He is stern and deadly serious throughout, offering a volatile contrast to Carter’s role, and it’s their fiery chemistry that makes this instantly watchable. He looks older and considerably weaker, and references to his physical injury as well as his past of alcoholism help shape him as a damaged but still proud man. Cracks that begin to show during the rehearsals (with Taylor turning up drunk, drugged and utterly unprepared for the whole thing), take a turn for the worse when the play actually gets going. All that Taylor needs to do for a round of rousing applause from the audience is to simply show up on stage. No need to speak the lines, no need to do anything, all she has to do is to exist. Burton however, doesn’t quite receive that same treatment. Does this spark jealousy? Of sorts. Although Burton’s pride gets in the way of making his feelings known, West certainly lets us know that this bothers him. Getting into fights and making up soon afterwards is a repetitive cycle they go through again and again, which provide some fine entertainment as the two of them really go at each other, both verbally and in her case, physically too. But behind all the harsh words and raised volume, there is a sense that the two have never really fallen out of love. They are initially reunited purely on a professional level, but as time passes by their mutual attraction becomes difficult to ignore outright. Taylor is more actively in pursuit of romance than Burton, who at this point in life is happily married to Sally. Burton lets her know this, which naturally breaks her heart. Here Carter’s performance reaches new heights as she struggles to come to terms with having to move on with her life. Carter is hugely effective, and even for those who disapprove of a woman chasing a married man, there is an element of profound sadness and regret that is captured so brilliantly by the English actress. The constantly evolving character study is one that grips and never lets go. Even in its short running time (only 82 minutes in length) the film packs in so much dramatic force that you sometimes wish perhaps the film could have been longer as Carter and West are endlessly enjoyable to watch. By focusing solely on the relatively short time span of the production history of the play, the writers have room to delve deep into the complex characters. Past mistakes and troubles are referred to, which give us a more satisfying, rounded picture of the couple; mixing the happy memories of their magical past that can never be recaptured, as well as looking ahead to the emptier, more bleak future also relating this to their declining health, ending on a very bittersweet note that asks the audience to care and empathise with a couple who probably will have no realistic long-term prospects. It’s an endearing, memorable little television film, one that benefits enormously from the gifted cast playing gifted actors.

Rating: 4/5