"Looking for Richard" is the culmination of a five-year odyssey for actor / director Al Pacino. This amusing, involving and sometimes moving documentary charts Pacino's attempts to make Shakespeare accessible and relevant to American audiences, without sacrificing content.
To this end, Pacino weaves together the behind-the-scenes preparation of the actors, interviews with both Shakespeare authorities and "ordinary" citizens and footage from an all-star production of "Richard III," filmed in part at New York City's Cloisters Museum.
Pacino's motivations for selecting "Richard III" as the paradigmatic work of Shakespeare are not entirely clear. We are told, though, that it is Shakespeare's most popular play, performed more often than "Hamlet." Also, the spiteful, duplicitous Richard presents a golden opportunity for Pacino, an actor not renowned for his subtlety, to fume and rant.
Among the most charged, fascinating scenes in "Looking for Richard" are those where the principal actors rehearse informally. Each person struggles with the intricacies of language and character, trying to square the performances with the meaning of the text. Pacino himself is particularly candid about the often-puzzling challenge that Shakespeare poses for an American actor.
In the informal rehearsals, ideas, interpretations and personalities clash, with Pacino clearly eating it all up. The intensity of these scenes is balanced by footage of Pacino, on the streets of Manhattan, promoting a Shakespeare-in-Central-Park production of "Richard III."
The reactions of the populace to Pacino's inquiries range from indifference to hostility. An elderly, nearly toothless bum muses about Shakespeare's ability to bring to readers the primordial meanings of words, so they can experience honest emotion. An old immigrant, with little command of English, tells Pacino that of course he knows Shakespeare: "Tooby, or not tooby. Zat is da question."
Pacino consults scholars and fellow actors in his quest to present Shakespeare to the masses. Excerpts from interviews with Sir John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones illuminate the myriad experiences that underlie a love for the Bard.
Particular highlights are Kline's admission of making out in the back row of a production of "King Lear," and Redgrave's cerebral ruminations about the use of iambic pentameter.
The polished scenes from "Richard III" are inconsistent, ranging from acceptable to mildly embarrassing. Alec Baldwin does a fine job as Clarence, Richard's brother, imploring his assassins to look within their souls and spare his life. At the other end of the continuum, Aidan Quinn is a dull Richmond, rival to Richard for the throne. His climactic address to his troops has no vigor or excitement.
Also featured are Winona Ryder, somewhat weak as Lady Anne; Kevin Spacey, superb as Richard's fellow schemer Buckingham; and Estelle Parsons, delightful as the loony seer Queen Margaret.
Pacino has put together a worthwhile film. Admittedly, it sags in the middle and does suffer from being worked on over the course of several years. But when Pacino dons the character of Richard III, he is perfectly at one with the hunched back, crippled gait and rasping articulation of the title character. "Looking for Richard" is a fine testament to Pacino's love of Shakespeare and his intuitive feel for the spirit of "Richard III."
Al Pacino stars in "Looking for Richard." After more than 25 years in show business as an acclaimed actor on stage and screen, the veteran performer has settled down to direct an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Richard III."