I saw this movie in English-language version at midnight in April 2004 on a Dutch commercial TV-station. Al Pacino is to be praised for making this movie, of which I have the feeling that it could not be made in these times (are there any indies left?). I was fascinated to see what a gap there is between American and 'European' (i.e. British) ways of tackling the problem of performing a play of Shakespeare: the British interviewees were cool as cucumbers, the American actors (who all do a fine job) were sometimes desperate to find ways of passage through the labyrinth of the play. Pacino used a fine parallel: he made a historic event (the play written by Shakespeare) into a work of art, as did Shakespeare when he turned the rise and fall of the Richard III of the fifteenth century into a play. I think Pacino also tried to do something with one of the most fascinating Shakespearean themes: how life and play (or: men and actors) are intertwined and often cannot be separated. But Pacino could not elaborate on that, probably because he felt that the film otherwise would be too long. Pacino did well in trying to find the most appropriate locations for the scenes. I was mesmerized to see how Richard could do all that he wanted when inside castles and towers, but was at a loss when he found himself in the open fields. Al Pacino, there are still a lot of Shakespeare's plays waiting for you!
Review of Looking for Richard
