POSSIBLE Spoilers AHEAD!!! Based on a Christopher Marlowe play, this is about a gay king and how his love for a commoner destroys him. It's a very odd film--there are very few people around (the budget was VERY low for this) and the sets all look very sparse and spare. Also director Derek Jarmans gayness comes roaring through (I'm gay too and I didn't mind!). This is probably one of the few R-rated films to include full frontal male nudity and include a passionate make-out scene between two nude men. Still, I didn't totally like it. The dialogue kept throwing me--I had trouble understanding what was happening. Modernizing it a little more might have helped. And after Edwards' lover is killed, the film slows down and gets very repetitious and boring. Still, it's worth seeing for excellent performances by the entire cast (Swinton especially), interesting costumes (Swinton has a different outfit in every scene!), getting members of the gay British version of Queer Nation (Outrage) in the film and it, visually, looks gorgeous. And the appearance of Annie Lenox is a definite highlight. So, if you can stand the archaic language this is worth watching.
