THE PLANK FEBRUARY 9, 2007
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Ian Richardson, who played the lead role in what is far and away my favorite television series of all time, died today. The show was a twelve-hour trilogy ("House of Cards," "To Play the King," and "The Final Cut") that aired during the early 1990s on the BBC and was also broadcast in America on PBS. Richardson played a Machiavellian, ultra-conservative Tory politician who was, more or less, a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Richard III. (His wife Elizabeth is meant to be a modern-day Lady Macbeth, and surely qualifies as one of the most quietly terrifying spouses of a political leader ever to appear on a television or movie screen.) According to this obituary, the show was a sensational hit in Britain, but, over the years, I've found that many Americans have never heard of it. I've made it something of a personal mission to introduce my friends to it one by one--with the result that, at this point, I've seen the series more times than I can count--and now I'll take the message to a wider audience: If you're reading this blog, you are a probably a political junkie; and if you are a political junkie, you will love "House of Cards."
The show is, first and foremost, terrific entertainment: well acted, suspenseful, incredibly funny in a dark way. But, at its root, it's also a very smart commentary on the relationship between democracy and power: how power is acquired; how it is misused; and how, even in supposedly enlightened democratic polities, it frequently becomes an end unto itself. Richardson's character (Francis Urquhart, known in the British tabloids as "FU") is a pathologically cynical politician--the anti-Jed Bartlett. But, while he is a monster, he is an exceptionally charming, entertaining, self-aware monster. And FU isn't just trying to seduce the other characters: With his frequent asides to the audience (sometimes spoken, sometimes nothing more than a sly smile at the camera), he is also trying to seduce us. In the final scene of the trilogy's second act, having just used criminal means to win a high-stakes power struggle, FU stares into the camera and says to the audience, "You still trust me, don't you?" Then he breaks slowly into a smile, and says, "Of course you do." The suggestion is that, in a democracy, we get the leaders we deserve. The show is a warning of sorts about just how easy it is for cynicism in politics to triumph: Richard III for the democratic age. All of this is anchored by Richardson's extraordinary performance. See it; you won't regret it.
--Richard Just
14 comments
A friend introduced me to "House of Cards" some years back. Go find it on DVD and watch it; everything Mr. Just wrote about it is true. I dare you not to like it.
- benjamin81
February 9, 2007 at 4:03pm
and see if I can add it tonight!
- drdannyu
February 9, 2007 at 4:20pm
I saw it on tv a long time ago, and all I remember was that it was over-the-top gothic camp, more of a guilty pleasure than an insightful masterpiece.
- chrismealy
February 9, 2007 at 4:22pm
*just* after I bought the third installment of the series called The Final Cut. I had seen the first two installments, House of Cards, and To Play the King, just before. It's good stuff, and Richardson was outstanding in the role. I second the recommendation.
- jhildner
February 9, 2007 at 4:33pm
YOU might think that, I couldn't possibly comment.
- bar_sinister
February 9, 2007 at 5:06pm
was masterful, I always made a point of seeing whatever he was in when I came across his name, even watching "Dark City" which shows you how good I thought he was.
- blackton
February 9, 2007 at 5:18pm
I just finished watching, for the umpteenth time, Richardson play a key part in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, perhaps the greatest spy story ever filmed.
Richardson and Patrick Stewart do the Yorick scene from Hamlet, in Kenneth Clark's wonderful Civilization series of the late 60s. For those who know Tinker, Tailor and its sequel Smiley's People, this is a portentous pairing.
Richardson was adept at traitors. Tinker Tailor prepared him for the title role in Blunt, about the Queen's art curator, who was the "Fourth Man" of the infamous Cambridge spy cabal that included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean. And of course, the role of Sir Anthony Blunt was, in its turn, a perfect prep for Urquhart.
Richardson played sympathetic roles, too. Watch him in An Ungentlemanly Act, as the Royal governor of the Falklands, during that war. It's available from Amazon UK, but you need a region-free DVD player to watch it.
Really sad to hear of his passing.
- jm_rice
February 9, 2007 at 5:39pm
You might very well think that indeed. Time to put a bit of stick about.
- jhildner
February 9, 2007 at 6:10pm
Shame, shame. Ricardson's character was both creepy and charming.
- tec619
February 9, 2007 at 6:55pm
- spoonman
February 9, 2007 at 7:53pm
Though the third installment was a bit reduced in quality from the first two. It holds up very very well over time - some haunting performances from some of the supporting players, notably Mattie Storin and Stamper.
- robr
February 9, 2007 at 9:39pm
Sounds totally British. The literary man's revenge on politics
- teplukhin
February 10, 2007 at 2:18am
Is it just me, or does Tim Stamper look a lot like Tom DeLay?
- benjamin81
February 10, 2007 at 11:32am
Absolutely wonderful series. It's why taxpayers are happy to pay for the BBC.
- swr22
February 11, 2007 at 8:15pm