Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.1/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.67/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 86
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Richard Loncraine
Production
Mayfair Entertainment International, British Screen, United Artists, First Look Pictures, Bayly/Paré Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Cast
Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Kristin Scott Thomas, Adrian Dunbar, Maggie Smith, Tim McInnerny, Edward Hardwicke, Nigel Hawthorne, Jim Carter, Dominic West, John Wood, Roger Hammond, Bill Paterson, Donald Sumpter, Michael Elphick, Kate Steavenson-Payne, James Dreyfus, David Antrobus
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, stylish Shakespeare adaptation that relocates the play into an alternate fascist 1930s Britain, giving the familiar power struggle a chilling modern charge. Ian McKellen’s Richard is the main attraction: charismatic, grotesque, funny, and terrifying in equal measure.
Best for
Viewers who like villain-led political dramas
Fans of inventive Shakespeare adaptations
People drawn to alternate-history or fascist-aesthetic cinema
Audiences who enjoy theatrical performances with a satirical edge
Skip if
You want a straightforward historical drama
You dislike heightened dialogue or stage-to-screen stylization
You prefer subtle, naturalistic acting
You’re not interested in Shakespeare or literary adaptations
Overview
Richard III is one of those adaptations that understands the play’s real engine: not history, but charisma. By shifting the action into an imagined 1930s Britain, the film turns court intrigue into a fascist pageant, making Richard’s rise feel less like distant monarchy and more like a modern political nightmare. The result is sleek, nasty, and often darkly funny.
Worth noting
Ian McKellen is the reason the film endures. He plays Richard as a performer inside the performance, constantly inviting the audience into the conspiracy while making the character’s cruelty feel almost seductive. The fourth-wall breaks, bold production design, and brisk pacing all help the material feel alive rather than museum-bound.
Bottom line
It’s not the most emotionally subtle Shakespeare film, but it is one of the most accessible and visually distinctive. If you want a classical text reimagined with real bite, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 (4★) · 291 likes
Interesting to watch this fictional tale of a fascist, dictatorial United Kingdom now that I find I am actually living in the real thing.
DirkH (5★) · 171 likes
Shakespeare adaptations don't get much better than this...
Richard III isn't one of Shakespeare's best known plays, mainly because the titular character is the villain of the piece. Richard plots and schemes his way to power and kills most of his rivals on his way to the top. Though probably not historically correct (to emphasize the evil of Richard, Shakespeare made him a hunchback with a lazy eye), he is a wonderful villain, a complete bastard with a silver tongue.… more Shakespeare adaptations don't get much better than this...
Richard III isn't one of Shakespeare's best known plays, mainly because the titular character is the villain of the piece. Richard plots and schemes his way to power and kills most of his rivals on his way to the top. Though probably not historically correct (to emphasize the evil of Richard, Shakespeare made him a hunchback with a lazy eye), he is a wonderful villain, a complete bastard with a silver tongue.… more
𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖎𝖊 (3.5★) · 147 likes
Robert Downey Jr getting killed while getting a blow job is possibly the best piece of cinema i’ve ever witnessed
Adem (3.5★) · 111 likes
You know, this Ian McKellan guy might just have a future in acting.
Tomas Marinera (4★) · 87 likes
Oh sure, when Sir Ian McKellen quotes The Bard while using a urinal it's "cinema" that's worthy of great acclaim. Yet, when I do the same, it's "frightening behavior" that's worthy of getting me thrown out of an Applebees! Us Americans have no culture evidently.
2017 · Comedy, Drama, History · 1h 47m · R · Curator 9.4/10 (127.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now
If the appeal is political cruelty rendered as dark comedy, this is a sharp modern match.
Topics
Shakespeare adaptation, alternate history, fascist aesthetics, political thriller, period drama, villain protagonist, court intrigue, dark satire, stage-to-screen, British cinema