After the death of King Henry V, his infant becomes King Henry VI. His uncle, Gloucester (Bonneville), is named Lord Protector, and along with the Bishop of Winchester (West) and Exeter (Lesser), are charged with protecting the king and the kingdom. Seventeen years later, Henry VI (Sturridge) is still relying on his uncle and great uncles to help lead the kingdom.
The court is divided between Richard Plantagenet of York (Dunbar) and Somerset of Lancaster (Miles). Plantagenet was recently named the Duke of York and has a claim to the throne. He and his followers wear a white rose, while Somerset and his followers wear a red rose. Their disputes are put on hold when the Louis, Dauphin of France has declared himself king and with Joan of Arc (Laura Morgan) leading his army, is ready to take back the French lands that are ruled by Henry.
During the fight with the French, Somerset meets Margaret of Anjou (Okonedo), and wants to make her Henry's queen. Henry is charmed by her beauty and marries her. But she is bored by the king and begins an affair with Somerset. Can Henry unite his bickering court and lead his country to victory?
In 2012, the BBC made a miniseries of the first four plays in William Shakespeare's Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V; called The Hollow Crown. The series was massively successful, and in 2015 they decided to do a second series, called The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses to focus on the next 4 Shakespeare history plays (Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, and Richard III). But they decided to condense the Henry VI plays into 2, causing this iteration of the miniseries to have 3 parts: Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, and Richard III.
Henry VI Part 1 is considered the weakest of Shakespeare's history plays. For this miniseries, they chose to combine it with the first part of the Henry VI Part 2 play. The first series was successful due to the incredible actors who played the kings, but Tom Sturridge doesn't reach their level. King Henry VI is supposed to be weak and easily swayable in this play, and that is how he is portrayed. He isn't an interesting character and doesn't have much to do, other than let the others make their deceptions around him.
Unlike the previous series, this time the women have a bigger part to play. Sophie Okonedo is a powerhouse as Queen Margaret, a woman that isn't afraid to speak her mind and is more politically savy than expected. She is firy and manipulative and fascinating to watch.
Hugh Bonneville, best known for his role on PBS' Downton Abbey, is the moral and respectable Gloucester. And his duty to his nephew and country, are nicely contrasted with Sally Hawkins as his scheming wife, who will do anything to get the crown for her husband. Ben Miles, who I loved in the BBC show Coupling, is sneaky as Somerset, while Adrian Dunbar is the righteously indignant Richard of York.
This film serves to setup the pieces for the next part of the series: The War of the Roses. Anyone familiar with history (or from the Pennsylvania areas near the towns of Lancaster or York), is familiar with the overarching concept / colors (York is white and Lancaster is red). It helps to have at least a basic knowledge of the players and the play (both parts 1 and 2 of Shakespeare's Henry VI). Since they condensed the plays, it can be confusing to identify all of the players (especially when they are talking about each other and can go by multiple names).
It is a fascinating film and makes me excited to watch Part 2.
The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part 1 (2016) 111 minutes
Director: Dominic Cooke
Starring: Tom Sturridge as King Henry VI
Sophie Okonedo as Margaret of Anjou
Hugh Bonneville as Gloucester
Sally Hawkins as Duchess of Gloucester
Adrian Dunbar as Richard of York
Samuel West as Bishop of Winchester
Stanley Townsend as Warwick
Anton Lesser as Exeter
Ben Miles as Somerset
Jason Watkins as Suffolk
Michael Gambon as Mortimer
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