Film: A Man For All Seasons
"A Man For All Seasons" is the tale of Thomas More, the man who gave us the idea of Utopia, as in his final days he navigated the treacherous waters of 15th century England. Ultimately executed for his ideals, the story focuses not on his death, but on how he executed his life, and tried to balance his personal beliefs against the political reality of a man who wanted nothing more than to divorce his wife.
Both this film and "The Lion in Winter" portray men who will not betray their own ideals, and play dangerous games with all around them for survival; the difference lies in how their games were played. In "The Lion", Henry II tosses around his ideals as if they were playthings; in "A Man For All Seasons", Thomas instead keeps true to them, and it is the struggle to remain true that makes the story.
All this makes for an excellent story, with decent acting, and a few lines that are eminently quotable - of which his defense of laws of man stands out the most. One of these days I'm going to have to review a film I didn't like, but first I'll have to watch one. Until then, "A Man For All Seasons" gets 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix.
Coming as soon as I polish off the rest of Buffy Season 2: Eat Drink Man Woman, Casablanca, and The Day The Earth Stood Still.
