Just finished watching this. Loved every minute of it. They made cuts and really created a tight, action packed movie out of this play. The modern setting was great, and the cinematography was excellent.
The performances are what sets this one apart - everyone brought their A game and that made it all the more compelling. To focus on Hopkins, he plays Lear like a man that is truly insane. Maybe even a bit of Parkinson's too. It really shifts the tone of the film.
Normally in Lear you get the sense that the oldest 2 daughters are conniving schemers and that Lear is a bit of a victim (more sinned against than sinning), but in this version Lear's a right bastard and these 2 daughters are likely products of a pretty horrible home life. Oh, they are still quite vicious, but are more nuanced than in other versions.
As a viewer, you're left in the quandry of knowing that clearly the state is in bad shape with those 2 in charge, but in many respects it's even worse with Lear who's pretty much a madman. There's no real answer that's viable. And of course it wouldn't be Shakespeare if everyone didn't suffer enormously and/or die tragically. I love the bleak old bastard.
PS, one nice feature of watching it on Amazon - you can turn on the subtitles. I strongly recommend doing it, the dialog is way too intricate and spoken too rapidly to catch it just via audio. I say that as someone that's very familiar with this play, and also who has $20k planar magnetic speakers. Trust me, the subtitles are a blessing.
