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Who knew Peter O'Toole was capable of being a manly man?! In The Lion in Winter, he plays Henry II, who has ruled for many years and acquired much power, but must now choose which son will take over as king when he dies. The problem is that Henry favors his son John (Nigel Terry), his hating-loving wife Eleanor (Katherine Hepburn) favors Richard (Anthony Hopkins), and poor Geoffrey (John Castle) must fend for himself since nobody seems to care for him. Added to the complexities is the character of Alais, played by Jane Morrow, who loves Henry but could possibly be forced to marry one of his sons.

The movie was adapted from a successful play, and it shows. The dialog is whip-smart and moves quickly and with great impact. Each scene is filled with so many witticisms, emotions, and changes in the direction of the plot. At one moment, one might think there was love between certain members of the royal family, but at the next, one is sure that they all hate each other and are simply plotting. And it switches back and forth throughout the whole film, leaving the audience to figure out if even the characters actually know how they truly feel about each other.

I haven't seen a lot of Peter O'Toole movies, but (and I know I'm a minority on this) I hated him in Lawrence of Arabia. Actually, I'm not so sure I hated him so much as his actual character. O'Toole was kind of set in my mind as the epitome of a wuss since then, so to see him roar through the castle in The Lion in Winter was a surprise. It was a welcome surprise, though, and I loved him as Henry II. Not to be outdone is Katherine Hepburn, who seemed to become a much better actor as her years progressed, and is absolutely superb in this movie. She is most certainly the star of the show. This movie also marks the first major role of one Anthony Hopkins, who is one of my all-time favorites. His character is extremely interesting because he is both a fighter and a pawn, and he handles the extremes very well, from absolute anger to vulnerability in a matter of seconds.

The movie does feel like a play, with each scene lasting a very long time and the sets being only a few rooms of the castle. It works, though, and the movie is deeply involving because of the family's tight quarters for their battles of words and wits.

Overall, it's thoroughly tiring because of its range of emotional charges but a very great film.