Two scenes—one from a movie, one from history—shed light on the twisted spirit of Shakespeare’s Richard III, even if they’re not direct adaptations. They vibe with the same dark energy and unlock something about the play’s psyche.
First up: a wild moment from Wild at Heart. Willem Dafoe barges into Laura Dern’s hotel room and kicks off a freaky seduction. He starts by announcing he needs to piss, then cracks a crude, out-of-left-field joke about doing it on her head—pure shock value, Richard-style. After mocking her obvious unease, he pushes and prods until Dern, with Dafoe practically in her face, mutters, “Fuck me.” He just laughs, brushes it off with a “maybe later,” and says he’s too busy. It’s vulgar, it’s cruel, and it mirrors how Richard woos Lady Anne. Playing Anne as a masochistic nympho hooked on his edge makes the seduction click psychologically.
The second parallel comes from history, via Blood and Splendor. It’s a chilling Stalin story: at a meeting with his top brass, he sentences a Jewish man to death. The guy collapses, sobbing and pleading. That night at dinner, one of Stalin’s cronies mimics the begging for laughs—and Stalin loses it, cracking up hysterically. This fits Richard’s vibe when he meets James Tyrell to hear about the princes’ murder. He’s jittery at first, then relieved once the deed’s done. In the play, he tells Tyrell to swing by after supper with the details. Tweak the scene a bit—Tyrell recounting the killings as the camera pulls back—and you’ve got Richard laughing like Stalin, reveling in the grim punchline.
Both moments, one cinematic, one historical, tap into the same ruthless, unhinged core that drives Richard III. They’re not copies, but they get him.
No comments:
Post a Comment