The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 2

"Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?  Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down."

Five years after Richard Plantagenet of York (Dunbar) names himself king, the Yorks and Lancasters are still fighting.  Suffolk (Watkins) and Somerset (Miles) are killed in battle, and Suffolk's son Clifford (Soller) vows revenge.  The York's take the castle and place Plantagenet on the throne.  To spare his own life, King Henry VI (Sturridge) names Plantagenet as his heir.  He is permitted to live, and his son Ned (Archie Bradfield) will be spared but disinherited.  His sons, Edward (Streatfeild), George (Stroughton), and Richard (Cumberbatch), are not happy with the arrangement.  Queen Margaret (Okonedo) is enraged, and with Clifford and their followers attacks the Plantagenet home.  In the battle, Plantagenet is killed and his sons go to war with the Queen.  Henry goes into the battle and is driven to madness.  The Plantagenet's are victorious and the eldest becomes King Edward IV.

Ten years later, Margaret and Prince Ned (Barney Harris) are living in France.  King Edward marries Elizabeth Woodville (Hawes), a widow.  His action angers Warwick (Townsend), who journeyed to France to request the hand of King Louis' (Andrew Scott) sister for Edward.  Warwick vows his allegiance to the House of Lancaster.  Edward's actions also cause division within his family.  With French aid, who will win the war for the throne?


This is the second film in the second series of the BBC's The Hollow Crown.  The first series debuted in 2012 and was based on the first four plays in William Shakespeare's Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V.  The second series is based on Shakespeare's history plays about the war of the roses (thus the subtitle of this film).  The series is based on 4 plays, but was made into 3 films / episodes: Henry VI Part 1 (which is "Henry VI, Part 1" and the first half of "Henry VI, Part 2"), Henry VI Part 2 (the second half of "Henry VI, Part 2" and all of "Henry VI, Part 3"), and concludes with Richard III.

This film is much more violent than it's predecessors.  There is much more death, blood, and scheming.  Many of the characters from the previous film do not survive this film.  Anton Lesser is the only actor to appear in both series.  He began as Exeter in The Hollow Crown: Henry V and continued that role in this series.

Benedict Cumberbatch steals the show as Richard.  He is fascinating to watch and the best part of this film.  Cumberbatch has the best speeches (including the quote at the beginning) and speaks directly to the camera a few times.  Sophie Okonedo was the best part of the previous film, and she doesn't disappoint here.  She even gets to put on chain mail and lead her army into war.  Tom Sturridge continues to be a weak link, surrounded by extremely talented actors and actresses.  It's not that he's bad, it's just that his character is the least interesting one on the screen.

Once again I haven't read either of these Shakespeare's history plays.  I have an overall understanding of the actual events, but I don't know the specifics.  During the film, I took notes and continually checked the list of actors and the figures they portrayed to make sure I knew what was happening.  It was especially helpful since many of the characters have more than one name (especially the revolving door of kings and queens).

Of note, King Louis of France is played by Andrew Scott.  Scott and Cumberbatch play adversaries (Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes) on the BBC series Sherlock.

The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 2 (2016) 123 minutes
Director: Dominic Cooke
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard Plantagenet
Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret
Keely Hawes as Queen Elizabeth
Tom Sturridge as Henry VI
Adrian Dunbar as Plantagenet
Geoffrey Streatfeild as Edward IV
Sam Troughton as Clarence
Stuart McQuarrie as Vernon
Kyle Soller as Clifford
Richard Lynch as Westmorland
Lucy Robinson as Cecily
Stanley Townsend as Warwick
Anton Lesser as Exeter
Ben Daniels as Buckingham
Ben Miles as Somerset
Jason Watkins as Suffolk
Phoebe Fox as Lady Anne
Andrew Scott as King Louis