Chimes at Midnight

Starring: Orson Welles, John Gielgud, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, Keith Baxter, Marina Vlady, Norman Rodway, Keith Pyott, Jose Nieto, Andrew Faulds
Directed by: Orson Welles
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Comedy
1965

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: John Falstaff (Orson Welles) befriends Prince Hal (Keith Baxter) and watches as his friend ascends to the throne of England.

Review:

Tim: Orson Welles' passion project takes text from five different Shakespearean plays to tell familiar stories, yet this one is primarily through the eyes of the lovable John Falstaff. I really appreciated Welles' vision to highlight one of Shakespeare's most famous characters and to place him more in the center of the film, allowing primary characters like Prince Hal to shift to the side. It's an interesting twist on famous characters and it makes for entertaining viewing. This is a really good film and you can tell Welles just adored the spotlight here.

I do find it fascinating to consider how enormous Welles got. I thought it might be in part due to this role, but I read he actually needed to lose a bit of weight. It's starting to see his size here, but it does allow him to perfectly play the rotund Falstaff. Welles attacks this role with vigor and his performance is well worth watching. At times, he's mesmerizing, bringing this larger-than-life character to the screen. It's the best Falstaff performance I've ever seen. In Welles' hands, you can see why this humorous, absurd character was such an audience favorite for hundreds of years. This is really the main reason to see Chimes at Midnight- Welles just crushes this role with an unforgettable performance. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him here. I was at times mesmerized by his exceptional acting here. The cast around him is fine- I didn't quite love Keith Baxter as Hal, although he had some nice moments in his performance. John Gielgud is such an accomplished actor, he'll undoubtedly stand out in any cast. Margaret Rutherford does some nice things in her supporting role. Everyone else felt effective, but a bit unremarkable.

The film as a whole does feel a bit disjointed. I'm at least somewhat familiar with most of these plays- I loved the Henriad and I have passing familiarity with Richard II. It's interesting, by putting Falstaff in the limelight, Welles borrows from multiple plays, but it definitely feels like the majority of the action here happens in the margins. Henry IV ends his reign and Hal ascends to the throne, but that's not really the main focus of the film- it's on this lovable goofball who never really does much, but interacts with side characters here. It's a truly intriguing flip of the usual story, but it does feel a little odd, too. Why should we care so much about Falstaff? Why is he the focus when arguably, the supporting characters here have far more interesting stories? The movie is an intriguing change, but there's a reason Shakespeare never made Falstaff the main character. That's somewhat apparent from watching this film.

Welles does a tremendous job directing the movie, too. The story might be a bit strung together, but the cinematography, the costumes, everything else works exceptionally well. The movie's visuals pull you in. Welles gives his actors plenty of freedom to act (especially himself) and so you do feel like they are truly putting on a show. This is absolutely an actor's dream, to be able to give this kind of performance in a film that's primarily focused on the acting. It makes for an entertaining watch.

I definitely enjoyed Chimes at Midnight, just to see how Welles subverted the usual Shakespearean stories. It's not a film I'd necessarily want to watch again- once felt like enough. However, I did love seeing Welles in this role. It made me want to learn more about him- his physical appearance definitely felt like a cause for concern, although it did make him ideal to play this part. Welles writes, stars, and directs this well-made film that also moves quickly. At 1 hour, 55 minutes, Welles still manages to cover a lot of ground. This is undoubtedly a movie worth watching, especially for Shakespeare fans.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Henry V, Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil