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Reviews
Monarch (2000)
TP McKenna - Hidden Henry Revealed!
A sensationalist headline for a sensational performance. This small indie film is not like it other indie films, it's a costume drama for a start. A young director at the time, John Walsh took the brave step of casting older actors and some heavy weight ones at that. Jean Marsh is famed for her iconic Upstairs Downstairs role, which she created. A Hollywood career beckoned with witches, and wizards tripping off her acting lips. For the role of the most feared king of England, TP McKenna. A respected Irish actor of stage and screen, his contemporaries include, Peter O'Toole, Lawrence Olivier and Richard Burton. Ironically he would take a supporting role in Burton's own Henry VIII epic Anne of A Thousand Days.
The film has been remastered from its original camera negative and I have been honoured to have a sneak preview. Often reviewers say the film "blew them away" or "it's the best film I've seen this year". Here I'm not going to say that. But the film is a strange one. I can honestly say it left me with a very uneasy feeling, a haunting piece that seems to look into the very soul of the king of England. The performance from TP McKenna is a towering achievement, it's Olivier-esque. Sadly TP McKenna actor died in 2011, but I am sure he would approve of this revisiting of his work and in its new HD glory, is saved for future generations.