Release Date: December 17, 1999
Starring: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Randall Duk Kim, Keith Chin
Directed by: Andy Tennant
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Films
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (some intense violent sequences)
The epic genre is the most demanding variety of film. It requires a seamless integration of directing, scripting, acting, scoring, costuming, and producing, and it must also have stamina and endurance to remain committed throughout what is likely a 150-minute-plus running time. The greatest epic film of the last ten years, and maybe even of all time, is Braveheart, Mel Gibson's story of Scottish patriots wresting independence from the grasp of their English persecutors. Schindler's List might qualify as well, but its scope and study are so confined to the character of Oskar Schindler that it defies the epic genre and rises above it. Nevertheless, both of these films, modern-day classics, are miles beyond the generic Hollywood fare found in Ever After director Andy Tennant's Anna and the King.
For the most part, audiences need not be bothered by qualifiers such as "generic Hollywood fare." Most of the films that fall under that heading, including this one, are still worth the time and the money. But those moviegoers who hope to see Academy Award-winning greatness will be severely disappointed, for the movie is one that does not cater to the more Oscar-friendly areas of filmmaking.
If there is a golden statue to be given to Anna and the King, it is for costume design. The film takes place in Siam of the 1860s, and prominently features both the extravagant dress of Victorian England as well as the exotic raiment of Siamese royalty. The actors' clothing here is the variety that rightfully inspires such adjectives as "lavish" and "beautiful."
At times, however, the actors wear the clothing better than they wear the roles. Jodie Foster, one of the best actresses working in Hollywood today, seems awkward at times, and her costar, Chow Yun-Fat, isn't able to adequately fill the gaps left by those momentary lapses. Foster stars as Anna Leonowens, a British widow and schoolteacher living in the royal colony of India during the nineteenth century. At the film's outset, she has been sent to Siam with her son Louis (Tom Felton) to teach King Mongkut (Chow)'s eldest son and heir apparent a Western education. Upon arriving, however, she finds the monarch to be less accommodating than she expected: promises of a residence outside the palace walls are not fulfilled immediately, and instead of educating just one son, she is commanded to teach all fifty-eight royal children. Meanwhile, other games are afoot in the palace: war is imminent between Siam and its neighbor Cambodia, and a subtle romance develops between Anna and the King.
The two key elements missing from this film which prevent it from realizing epic greatness are the photography and the score. The former, directed by Caleb Deschanel, is not the driving force it should be: the exotic location of Siam (shot, in fact, in Malaysia) should lend itself to spectacular imagery and jaw-dropping photography. Occasionally, it happens -- the first time the camera rises above the crowded city streets to reveal a sun-bathed vista of the palace is remarkable; and other singular shots like the rice festival or the riverboats are also clever -- but for the most part the camera remains indoors and cut off from the really good views.
The George Fenton score, too, is quite unremarkable. Violins swell and trumpets blare in accordance with the mediocre performances from Ms. Foster and Mr. Chow, but there is constantly the sense that it could have been a much more memorable element in the hands of James Horner or John Williams. Mr. Williams is particularly qualified, having scored 1997's Seven Years in Tibet as an interesting blend of Eastern traditional music and Western orchestra.
Also working against the film is its reluctance to embrace any one of its numerous subplots, and the chronic inability to do so undermines its credibility. The romance between Mongkut and Anna is poorly executed by screenwriters Peter Krikes and Steve Meerson (whose script is based mostly on Ms. Leonowens' diaries and loosely on the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The King and I); the same could be said for the political intrigue storyline -- which is simply an excuse to include a pair of action sequences. It would have been better for the movie to have either ignored these completely or developed them more fully, rather than leaving them half-finished and hung out to dry.
The intentions of Anna and the King are genuine enough, and though it has a few missteps, audiences will likely forgive the movie for them in light of its nature as a whole. It's also the only period movie in release this holiday season, and those seeking escape from louder products will make this one popular. Mostly, though, it will play to those in the holiday spirit looking to be rewarded with a good, clean drama that requires little serious thought and offers just about as much.
all contents © 1999 Craig Roush