Monarch

I'm surprised none of the other reviews here so far have spotted that this film is a bit of a Doctor Who-fest. An average film might have 50 or so in it's cast and if there was an odd actor who appeared in from the 50 year old sci-fi series, it would not be too much of a surprise. What is startling here is we have a cast of about eight leading players and half of them have been in Doctor Who.

Peter Miles played the evil Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks and appeared in the Dinosaur Invasion of Earth, plus a few others. James Coombes was a Cyberman and Jean Marsh (who plays a ghostly Queen here) was in her evil witch persona for the Sylvester McCoy epic Battlefield. Plus she was also an early Who girl and married Jon Pertwee. Lastly the Monarch form this film's title, the great and sadly late, TP McKenna joined the seventh Doctor for The Greatest Show In The Galaxy.

Has this film been given a spit and polish form the vast film archives of the British Cinema vaults to coincide with the 50th Anniversary hoopla? Either way it's a welcome addition. And having seen John Walsh's furiously funny ToryBoy The Movie in cinemas, I am a fan pure and simple. He gets my vote every time :)

I came across this film after seeing it advertised at a film festival. I missed it as it was sold out. I caught up with the film later and found out it had been lost for a while and the director John Walsh was giving the inside story on what happened.

As a film maker myself I was fascinated by this story of the making of this low budget costume drama and the story of the film too. Set in a wintry night an injured King Henry VIII comes to what appears to be an abandoned or at least closed up house.

What happens next is an indie Agatha Christie style story. The shooting style and performances are somewhat unique to this film and really work in the stormy night context. Stand out performances from TP McKenna ad Henry VIII and Jean Marsh as one or more of his former wives.

What film maker John Walsh did with a tony amount of money and little more than a two week shoot is impressive. A costume drama that has something to say about the current state of things.

I caught up with this movie on Prime Video. Wanted to see what the fuss was about. For a film that had some great reviews from major magazines I was surprised to see some bummer reviews. I guess it will be one what decides those who do and don't like what they see, obviously. My first thought was this Henry VIII drama might have a touch of Wolf Hall about it until I realized it was made in 1996, 13 years before the first Wolf Hall book! Do these filmmakers know that their idea was nicked? I guess they should by now. Sure this is low budget and is in one location. It doesn't pretend to be an epic Lawrence of Arabia film. I liked this slow burn indie style costume drama. Makes a change from a mind numbing indie horror Blair Witch rip off that so many debut features are. If you dig around you can see that John Walsh who wrote and filmed this is today a mega awards laden filmmaker and writer of books, also knows as a best-selling author! Be part of the light and not the darkness and see this film ideally at night but leave a positive review. It is like a Tudor ghost story. I like other reviewers feel haunted after seeing it. The house it was filmed in is a real haunted English manor house.

Monarch is an impressive debut for documentary director John Walsh. At first appearance this looks like a run of the mill costume drama, but the sparse location careful lighting and efficient use of money and sound effects brings an eerie quality to a film, which although shot on a low budget, does not fall into the trap many of Walsh's peers appear to have in recent years. Brit gangster flicks are almost a prerequisite for a British directorial debut these days. Opting for this historical retelling of one night in the life of Henry VIII shortly before his death John Walsh has managed to convey a grand story of a dying King in an intimate and poignant way, with a few chills along the way.

Much of the sparseness can be attributed to the low budget yet this simply adds to the tension and feeling of emptiness in a Monarch who as lived with excess. Lighting and music are both careful and complex. The camera is confident a brave in many sequences allowing the story to unfold rather than driving the camera and Walsh avoids the hand-held horror of most first time feature directors, opting for a more considered and Kubrick like composition of each shot.

Lighting by ex-Kubrick alumni Ray Andrew (camera operator on The Shinning) heightens the sense of a dark, damp historical past. You can almost smell the damp, yet the lighting and careful flesh tones and Walsh's composition is reminiscent of painter Caravaggio.

The support players are good here too, feeling as through they have been at the court of Henry for some years are themselves ready to give up the ghost. Female cheaters are sparse here but their impact is powerful. Jean March from "Willow" and "Upstairs, Downstairs" impresses as a ghostly amalgam of Henry's past wives. Walsh has brought new life to an up to now, well trodden piece of English history.

The plot is simple yet effective. A grand house closed for the season when one night the injured ruler is brought in and slumps by the grand fireplace. Henry is without the power and control of his palace and is vulnerable from those around him, and from his own sanity.

TP McKenna towers as Henry VIII with on screen chemistry of the Jean Marsh putting a chill down the spine of most viewers. It is somewhat of a shame that little gems like this are not given a wider viewing. I look forward to what John Walsh can next offer up.

I missed this film the first time round, but this just making 'finding' it now all the more intriguing. This is a cleverly simply story set in one stormy night in a house. There is a break in and then things start to kick off. Sounds like the outline for a low budget crime thriller right? No – this is period costume drama set during one night in the life of English King Henry 8th. The one who killed almost all of his wives.

From a grunge indie inception to a full blow 35mm cinema experience this film certainly challenges the perception about first time feature films and their directors. John Walsh was 26 when he wrote, produced, directed and edited this mini epic.

The cast is headed by Irish acting legend, the now late TP McKenna as King Henry and a ghostly appearance of Jean Marsh as one more of his former wives. Given the tight budget and innovative style, I would like to see what Hollywood makes of him.