THE CROWN: SEASON 3 - Blu-ray (Left Bank Pictures, 2019) Sony Home Entertainment
After a delay of much too long, Season 3 of the Netflix original series, The Crown (2019) at last makes its debut on Blu-ray, via a seismic change to cast, tone and temperament, departing from the original franchise that made a household name of Claire Foy as the rather imperious, if socially challenged young monarch to Matt Smith’s philandering Philip – the randy Duke of Edenborough. The producers’ decision to virtually scrap the entire original cast, also to have included a luminous Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, proves rather devastating to Season 3. I mean, isn’t this precisely the purpose for which age-endeavoring stipple makeup and latex appliances were created? So, Foy is out – replaced by Olivia Colman as a somewhat more recalcitrant, if chirpy Queen Elizabeth II who, in several episodes, espouses the persona of an angry chipmunk as she sputters along with increasing discomfort. As unconvincing here is Helena Bonham Carter, who replaces Kirby as a plump-ish Maggie, out to get all she can from the thankless role of the royal ‘spare’. Also new, but rather shockingly effective, is Tobias Menzies as a more reserved and introspective Philip, and, Jason Watkins who transforms Prime Minister Harold Wilson into a sort of rotund, if cherub-esque socialist ‘pal’ to the Crown in matters of state. While Seasons 1 and 2 of this handsome franchise concentrated on a brilliant reflection of the British monarchy, pre-and-post the coronation of its central figure, with enough political intrigues to fill at least 4 full-fledged miniseries, Season 3 appears to have taken a considerable step back, involving more straight-forward, and not altogether as fascinating backstories on the royals as people first. Indeed, the bulk of Season 3 is most concerned with various ‘reactions’ from the royal family, commenting on world events taking place beyond their tight little isle, representative – perhaps – of England’s steadily eroding importance on the world stage in the 20th century; arguably, America’s age. As such, several of the episodes herein deal squarely with American exceptionalism and achievement, seemingly to negate the purpose for any series reporting to be about the Queen.
The real issue I have with The Crown: Season 3
is that everyone just seems different. No kidding – we have different actors
cast in virtually all of the major roles, each bringing their own uniqueness to
the parts they play. But there should at least have remained some transitional
continuity between the actors playing these parts, as previously outlined by
Foy and the original cast, and, our transitional troop of thespians inheriting
this mantel of quality. Alas, observing Colman at the outset of Season 3
is such a complete jolt to the system, her stoic poise notwithstanding, her
perennially groomed coiffeur looking like a brown football helmet with too much
Aquanet plastering it into shape, her thoroughbred’s jaw protruding with a full
china closet of pearly teeth caught in a perpetual grin – or is it a grimace? According
Colman’s frozen-pussed performance, it remains rather difficult to deduce. Likely
aware she had much to conquer, Colman is more uncomfortable than anything else
for large portions of Season 3. It takes until Episode 5, wherein
the Queen, having traveled to Kentucky to observe stud farming with Lord
Porchester (John Hollingworth) suddenly confides to her old friend the
diverging interests, duty to have effectively deprived her of a life perhaps
not as purposeful to the nation, though more richly satisfying to her temperament
and soul, to get Colman to warm up enough that our empathies are with her as
Queen. There is a genuineness in this aforementioned confession we are never
again shown by Colman for the duration of the season.
There is also much to be desired from Helena Bonham
Carter’s chain-smoking bon vivant.
Whereas Vanessa Kirby played Princess Margaret as an incurable flirt,
defiantly to ensure her own vivacity triumphs over the constant constraints of
propriety and decorum, Bonham Carter’s reincarnation slinks along with a penitent,
if petulant pang, ever-threatened to become emboldened by a rank bitterness and
frustration from her meaningless marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of
Snowdon (played with a brick in his britches by Ben Daniels, taken over from
the more enigmatic, Matthew Goode in Season 2). Bonham Carter’s part is
one of the most awkwardly situated in Season 3, with sisterly tensions
from the first two seasons once more spilling over here; a carry-over from
childhood, now manifested in a cordial, but curmudgeonly Mexican standoff; the
Queen, goaded by Philip, who views her sister as the lesser, though far more
dangerous half of a two-headed hydra, destined to usurp the Crown’s popularity –
if not its authority – with the people, Elizabeth hardened to deny, even
superficially, Margaret’s request to take on more ‘official’ duties in her
stead. That the real Liz and Maggie should have spent their lives chronically
at odds from within their own sovereignty – because of it, in fact – strikes me
as woefully unforgivable, the intractable Crown, perhaps jealous of her more
liberated younger sister, derailing Margaret’s chances to be happy in life with
the only man who so clearly would have suited her best – Peter Townsend.
Physically speaking, none of the stars in Season 3
bear even a remote resemblance to their counterparts from the first two seasons
of The Crown. Fair enough, we all change a little over the years. And
fairer still, the maturation from young queen to self-professed ‘old bat’
is somewhat humorously dealt with at the outset when royal photog, Cecil Beaton
arrives to re-photograph the Queen and update her nationally syndicated image. But also, let us not forget that according the series' timeline, only a year has past between the events unfolding in Season 2, and those to kick-start Season 3! In that short period of 12 months we have gone from a regal monarch to one looking dumpy and careworn. Ditto for Helena Bonham Carter's Margaret. Even with woe unto strong drink and a daily diet of cigarettes, you can't age that fast!!! Hence,
the truly rewarding performances to be had in Season 3 derive from newbies
to the cast, about to take a more proactive role in the franchise as a whole.
Of these, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles remains a standout – genuinely affecting
as the awkward and sensitive heir apparent, unable to gain his mother’s attentions
– much less ‘affections’, and most certainly, never to have her respect on any
lasting basis. To a lesser extent, Erin Doherty shines as Princess Anne –
particularly, in her alliance and friendship with Charles. In Episode 6,
‘Tywysog
Cymru’, we catch a memorable glimpse of what life within the palace must have
been for a truly introspective boy aspiring to become a man, painfully deprived
either a mother’s love or a father’s guidance, relying almost exclusively on
his own merit and wits, and, on occasion, the compassion outstretched hand of
tolerance provided to him by his kindly uncle, Louis Mountbatten, 1st
Earl Mountbatten of Burma (the marvelous Charles Dance, taking over from the as
impressive, Greg Wise in Seasons 1 and 2).
The Crown: Season 3 is at its best,
ironically, when the Queen is not the focal point of the story. There just isn’t
much subtext to Olivia Colman’s portrait – more of a thumbnail sketch than an
investigative search for the real women lurking beneath the title. Regrettable
too, the roller-coaster-ish toggling between inevitable highs and lows as
various affairs of state begin to dominate and dictate the life of a ruler seem
to have either plateaued in Season 3 or otherwise been homogenized into
a sort of even-keeled exploration of fate and folly. The season opener, ‘Olding’
resists the first appearance of Colman, perhaps aware expectations are running
high for Foy’s replacement to assuage into this role of a lifetime. Alas, the transition is clumsy at best. Lest
we forget that nearing the end of Season 2, a youthful Foy met President
Kennedy just prior to his presidential assassination. That was 1963. We are now
into 1964. If Colman is supposed to be Foy reincarnated, it’s been a tough
night at the palace as she has not aged well at all in a little over six
months. The Elizabeth we concluded upon at the end of Season 2 was
conservative, but stately – if, with a few more wrinkles to recommend her
stature. But the one we find at the outset of Season 3, dimple-chinned,
with piercing eyes, is decidedly dowdy and frumpish. As the nation makes ready
its acceptance of a new PM in Harold Wilson, rumors abound he is a communist.
Indeed, even Churchill, in a flashback, asserts his suspicions about Wilson’s
loyalties. The Queen dismisses this as rank gossip. Meanwhile, Margaret, as the
Countess of Snowdon, begins to falter in her marriage. At Churchill's funeral, the
Queen observes Wilson engaged in conversation with Russians. Not long
thereafter, the Queen receives word that a sleeper agent is working for the KGB
inside Buckingham Palace. Later, it is
revealed art advisor, Sir Anthony Blunt (Samuel West) is the mole. For her own
suspicions, the Queen apologizes to Wilson. Applying his own damage control, Philip
confronts Blunt in private, discovering he possesses certain potentially
damaging knowledge of the Profumo affair, to be kept silent, so long as he,
Blunt retains his freedom.
Season 3 continues with ‘Margaretology’. We
advance a whole year - into 1965, as Margaret and Tony embark on a tour of the
United States on the Crown’s behalf. Back home, Wilson informs Her Majesty the
country is in desperate need of a financial bailout from President Lyndon Johnson.
Alas, Johnson is acutely aware of the reason for his invitation to the palace
and rejects it outright as the Queen openly failed to support America in their
decision to invade Vietnam. Finagling an invite to the White House, Margaret
dazzles the President (Clancy Brown), First Lady (Susan Kopser) and their friends
with her sass and smarts, akin to Johnson’s own certain disregard for the niceties
and ribald good humor. Margaret is a sensation. Her great success ought to have lightened the
Queen’s burdens. Instead, Philip views Margaret’s popularity as a distinct
threat. Hence, even as Margaret implores Elizabeth for more responsibility in
service to the Crown, the Queen’s heart is once more hardened against her sister.
With Episode 3, ‘Aberfan’ we advance another year into the future
– Oct. 1966, to a mining village nestled at the foot of a great mountain that
collapses, burying alive many, including an entire school house of children.
The casualties cause a public outrage the Crown refuses to acknowledge. Wilson
tries to get the Queen to attend the funeral. Philip arrives in her stead,
dumbfounded by the religious outpouring of grief he then relays back home. Tony
also makes his pilgrimage and is devastated by what he sees, leaving Margaret
to relay his memories to her mother and sister. The public blames the National
Coal Board but then shifts its anger onto the Crown. After receiving a letter
criticizing her lack of empathy, the Queen confronts Wilson, who steadfastly
denies he sent it. Unable to reconcile this negativity with her truest emotions,
the Queen attends Aberfan, laying flowers and visiting with grieving family
members. Later, she confides in Wilson her inability to feel any sort of emotion.
However, in private, she suddenly finds the courage to weep while listening to
a recording of the hymn sung at the children’s funeral.
Season 3 lingers on this dour note with ‘Bubbikins’;
another year set aside as Wilson informs the Queen, Philip’s mother, Princess
Alice (Jane Lapotaire), living as a nun in Athens, is in
danger from the recent imposition of military rule. Showing great compassion,
the Queen arranges for Alice to stay at Buckingham Palace despite Philip’s
protests. As she and Princess Anne look after Alice, the royal family agrees to
participate in a documentary depicting the supposed normalcy of their lives.
Critics rebuff the effort as shallow and insincere, prompting Philip to arrange
an interview for Princess Anne with Guardian reporter, John Armstrong (Colin
Morgan). Armstrong, however, finds Alice a far more interesting subject for his
article and, as she reveals to him her soul and purpose in life, his glowing retraction
of the royals as worthwhile for the good of the nation, causes Philip to
reexamine his own lingering animosity towards his mother. In Episode 5 – Coup,
also set in 1967, we learn of Mountbatten’s royal foil to lure the Queen into
ousting Wilson from power. Learning of
this plot beforehand, Wilson confronts the Crown while she is on holiday in
Kentucky with the Earl of Porchester, seeking new methods of stud farming from
the Americans.
In ‘Tywysog Cymru’, Charles in unceremoniously
yanked from Cambridge for a term and sent to Wales to learn the Welsh language.
A reluctant Charles is initially met with animosity from his tutor, Tedi
Millward (Mark Lewis Jones) who is a staunch Republican in favor of Wales’ separation
from England. His wife, Sylvia (Nia Roberts) is as defiantly opposed to her
husband’s re-education of the Prince until both realize how subjugated Charles
is to the will of his family. Taking pride in Charles’ investiture, Tedi
instructs his pupil, not only in the language, but the prestige of the Welsh
people, and Charles, in reply, does his own research into the House of Windsor’s
past treatment of this neighboring nation. He then elects to alter the speech written
for the ceremony, delivering his own distinct message of hope and promise to
the Welsh people in their language. Returning home, Charles is deeply wounded to
learn his mother not only does not share in his views, but is determined his
voice should be silenced – not just in public, but also at home. In Episode
7, ‘Moondust’ - Philip marvels at the American accomplishment of the
lunar landing and is determined to meet with the Apollo 11 astronauts for a
private audience. But his expectation for them to be god-like and prolific with
their reflections is disappointed when they turn out to be just ordinary young
men, far more interested in his duties as Prince. As Philip openly criticizes
the Dean of Windsor, the Queen elects to have him replaced with Robin Woods (Tim
McCullan), to begin a new religious academy on the castle grounds. Philip is
engaged to partake, and although reluctant to do so, eventually opens up to Woods
about the recent death of his mother.
We are introduced to the first inklings of a lover’s
triangle between Prince Charles, Camilla Shand (Emerald Fennell) and Andrew
Parker Bowles (Andrew Buchan) in Episode 8, ‘Dangling Man’,
despite the fact, Andrew and Princess Anne are carrying on together. The Queen
indulges a final meeting with the estranged Duke of Windsor (Derek Jacobi)
shortly before his death in 1972. He asks for forgiveness. Alas, hardened by
his former Nazi sympathies, the Queen confides now she is grateful that he
abdicated. The Duke gives Elizabeth letters written in Prince Charles hand in
which he vows to be an individual. These, the Queen finds extremely alarming.
As the year winds down, England welcomes a new Prime Minister, Edward Heath
(Michael Maloney). Episode 9, ‘Imbroglio’,
remains in 1972, exploring the miner’s strike as well as the Queen’s plot to
intervene in her son’s romance with Camilla Shand; a decision seconded by
Mountbatten. Charles is posted overseas for 8-months while the Queen Mother
(Marion Bailey) encourages Andrew Parker-Bowles to wed Camilla in Charles’
absence. The finale episode in Season 3, ‘Cri de Coeur’
introduces Margaret to Roddy Llewellyn (Harry Treadaway), a kindred spirit who
whisks her away to the Caribbean with an entourage of friends. Soon, the couple
are photographed together. Determined to derail the scandal, the Queen recalls
her sister back to England. A distraught Margaret attempts suicide, but is
spared the inevitable and reconciled with her sister, shortly before the Queen’s
Silver Jubilee.
The Crown: Season 3 suffers marginally from an arc of
looming darkness and despair. Whereas the first two seasons appeared to balance
the various threats facing the monarchy in the turbulent first half of the 20th
century with intermittent respites of polite comedy and more sociable events, our
foray into the second half of this epoch appears to be struggling for reasons
to maintain a sense of equilibrium over the advancing dread. Deprived such
enigmatic figures as Winston Churchill (memorably played by John Lithgow) and Sir
Tommy Lascelles, Private Secretary to King George VI (memorably played with imposing
menace by Pip Torrens, and briefly glimpsed in Season 3’s ‘Margaretology’
episode in a flashback), the rest of the franchise is doubly deflated, first by
recasting virtually every major player we have come to know and love, but also,
by the inevitable passage of time, to have dwindled the parade of key figures
in this ongoing cavalcade of human bing-bang. So, Season 3 must stand on
its own merits and the strength of its newly amassed roster of talent. And
while certain actors do make their mark, like the aforementioned Mark Lewis
Jones as Charles’ tutor, they remain transient, rather than reoccurring figures
in this processional of time. One sincerely wishes for more time spent with
these people – an unaffordable luxury for any series. And the short-lived
assortment of Prime Ministers that follow Churchill’s epic reign generate yet
another void in familiarity, leaving Elizabeth, the incalculably isolated centerpiece
in this menagerie of private intrigues. Were that Foy had been allowed to stay
the course here, at least The Crown: Season 3 would have had her luminous
presence to inspire as a compass. Foy’s portrait of Elizabeth is guarded, yet intermittently
allows for the tiara to slip just a little – and enough for us to experience
the inner turmoil of the Queen on her own terms. Regrettably, Olivia Colman’s sour
sovereign is not merely guarded, but Teflon-coated and impervious to our
getting to know her better; at times, most ill-equipped to even suggest for the
audience inroads into the darkened recesses of her ever-conflicted monarchy. So,
what we get is ever-more the figurehead than the woman which, after all, was
the point of the series in the first place, to see the real person behind all
the pomp and ceremony.
Season 3 of The Crown arrives on Blu-ray via Sony Home
Entertainment and, predictably, is the benefactor of Sony’s usual high
standards where 1080p authoring is concerned. The image here is mostly dark,
with a generally drab color spectrum drained of all vitality and sparkle. This
is, as it should be, and thoroughly in keeping with Stuart Howell, Frank Lamm
and Fabian Wagner’s stylized cinematography. The refined image reveals
monumental amounts of fine detail in Martin Child’s production design. Dimly
lit interiors, and darkly contrasted and atmospheric exteriors receive
exemplary contrast, breaking down shadow delineation to a finite science of
tonal variances in deep grays and velvety blacks. It’s a good show – visually speaking,
perfectly augmented by a subtlety nuanced 5.1 DTS audio for this primarily
dialogue-driven miniseries. Extras, all housed on Disc 4, include featurettes
on the making of the season, costuming, and the authentic reproduction of
history at a glance. Bottom line: Season 3 of The Crown is not up
to the memorable affairs of state depicted in Seasons 1 and 2. It’s
still a compelling series to be sure – and, with more to follow. But Season 3
ultimately lacks the ‘oomph’ and trajectory of history’s arc to propel its
performances beyond a mostly colorless portrait of the royal family, drained of
virtually all its life blood. Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
3
VIDEO/AUDIO
5+
EXTRAS
3.5
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