Burton und Taylor

For a mere $70,000 a week (each), the now sober Richard Burton (Dominic West) is convinced by the not so sober, pill-popping, Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) to reunite and star in a version of Noêl Coward's "Private Lives". He has other irons in the fire, not least an impending new wife and an opportunity of a lifetime to play "Lear" so isn't so keen but she is persuasive. After almost false-starting on night one, they duly turn up and though the critics absolutely loathe it, the fans initially throughly enjoy what they see as the real lives of these two stars being enthusiastically and acerbically presented using the stage as a conduit for their bickering. Burton is narked that it's his ex-wife fans want to see whilst she selfishly keeps on hitting the bottle. When the audiences do start to dwindle and the show is halted, the pair face the nearest thing either can imagine to a fait accompli - but do they care? It is entertaining at times with both actors looking like they are enjoying this once in a lifetime opportunity to play this torrid partnership with gusto and a tiny bit of venom. Despite their best endeavours, though, it looks like the producers were more concerned about it's rating, and the thing has a sterile tameness that lets it down a bit. They are going through the motions of a vitriolic and addictive relationship but it just doesn't land enough punches - physically or metaphorically. It's watchable, but nothing special at all.

"Burton and Taylor" starts weakly because it takes a while to accept Dominic West as a dissipated 57-year-old Richard Burton and Helena Bonham-Carter as legendary glamour puss Liz Taylor. But West wins us over first of all with his deep voice and cultivated enunciations (which was what Burton was primarily known for); then secondarily his Burton-style cheek folds and greying temples provide just enough distraction from West's own robust youthfulness; finally, West projects a pervasive worldly cynicism tempered with a basic humanity. Bonham-Carter has the coloring and heat of Taylor, something of the physique (though less buxom), slightly similar facial features enhanced by careful camera angles and she effectively duplicates Taylor's weak, whiny voice. She redeems herself for her abominable performance in 2012's "Dark Shadows."

The scope of the story, with the exception of one flashback, is wisely limited to several months in 1983 when the famous twice-married, twice-divorced couple reunited to play the leads in Noel Coward's "Private Lives" on Broadway. They were both too old for their parts and Taylor was not remotely adept at stage acting but superficially at least, their own relationship resembled that of the tempestuous couple at the heart of Coward's play. And that was enough for star-struck Broadway audiences to guarantee a financially successful – if artistically disastrous - production. Highlights of this extended public embarrassment – from early rehearsals through closing night – are interspersed with peaks and valleys in the Burton-Taylor personal drama.

Burton emerges as a skilled and erudite artist waylaid by dependency on drugs (alcohol and cigarettes); Taylor as an intelligent but spoiled, pill-popping, self-absorbed star monster, the kind only Hollywood could create; the pair as mutually dependent devourers and enablers of each other—in short, a mythic representation and exaggeration of average couples in general, which indeed was part of their mass appeal.

There are so many revelatory truths scattered amidst the dross of the TV-movie-style mise- en-scene that one can only surmise that the creative personnel behind this effort actually cared about and emotionally connected with their subjects. A few examples: the startling scene backstage when Taylor in mid-conversation with Burton suddenly slugs him in the face for having spoken rudely to her staff moments earlier; the close-up on their hands clasped together and then separating during a curtain call, pointing up the unstable unity-disunity of their relationship as expressed by the failure-success of their play; the dynamic of their on- stage interactions as Taylor, thanks to her sheer star power, gets away with running roughshod over Noel Coward's verbal architecture while Burton, the trained stage veteran, struggles to anchor the proceedings with actorly skill; Burton's frequent quoting from Shakespeare to express powerful feelings, reflective of his early absorption of and inner devotion to the classics of literature which not only fueled his youthful rise to success but sustained him through subsequent decades of personal and artistic dissolution.

This is the second biopic about this pair in the last year, the previous one being the forgettable quickie starring Lindsay Lohan. "Burton and Taylor" manages to obliterate its predecessor.

Burton and Taylor will forever be Hollywood's golden couple whose turbulent life made headline news but also inspired some dramatic films, none more so than 'Who's afraid of Virgina Woolf.'

The setting for this one off film is 1983, a year before Burton's untimely death.

Richard Burton (Dominic West) and Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) after their second divorce are reuniting in London for a theatrical play of Noel Coward's Private Lives and enter another spiral of turbulence, bickering, despair and affection.

The press announcement creates a storm of interest and speculation in the media as to if they will get back together for a third time.

Taylor still carries a torch for Burton while Burton, a man with a reputation as a great stage actor is frustrated by Taylor's histrionics and her unwillingness to rehearse the play properly.

Bonham Carter captures the essence and cattiness of Taylor remarkably well although West seems to struggle with his Burton. Maybe it was a misstep by concentrating in this period of their relationship when there is a more interesting story to be told about this pair as to how they fell in love in the early 1960s. Together with their roller coaster relationship over the next 20 years.

There is criticism that this play does not do justice to the Burton-Taylor relationship but that is unfair, what it does do is to focus upon a particular stage in their lives, coincidentally shortly before Burton's death.

Other criticism is for the lead players. If you had to cast someone as iconic as Richard Burton or Elizabeth Taylor who would you cast? Who would meet the legend? I feel the leads do a competent job and Dominic West's fading Welsh accent is very convincing.

It is, in truth, a fairly boring story but bolstered by strong performances and good direction.

Yup thanks to whoever thought of this. It clearly does not work however accurate the dialogue between them and the valiantly attempted body language was painfully unconvincing from two truly fine highly professional thespians who both strived to convince ?

Minutes prior to accessing this attempt i had for the first time, after all these years watched the truly fabulously produced, filmed and found myself mesmerized by them both in Cleopatra from 1963. As for this BBC attempt i noticed a modest reaction from viewers of a total of 10 not very impressive contributions ! Without having yet checked the number of contributions for Cleopatra, i am only guessing more than 50 minimum and i will check that true number of reactions later , ?

Short and sweet as possible, frankly this BBC attempt is not what i was hoping it would be .?