I of course binge watched the equally excellent Netflix 'House of Cards' and felt I should give this series a view. I'm glad I did because this series is actually far more effective than it's remake. Both are dependent on their lead characters and above any thing else they are character studies in the spirit of 'Richard III'. Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood shares the qualities of Francis Urquhart in that they are both bold and power hungry. Ian Richardson though does not wear it on his sleeve in quite the same way Spacey does. Urquhart is all the more terrifying a character because he feels so much more alien. Richardson's Urquhart has nothing in him but ambition and rage. What we have here is a hardened sociopath who has fine tuned himself as a master politician with the British parliament as his weapon. It is a great acting achievement. Even though we know exactly what Francis Urquhart is, Richardson must always hide the knife. It is the mark of a great actor to never know the exact manner of how and when Richardson will plunge that knife. This is perhaps the most endearing aspect of 'House of Cards'. That he is so charming as he lures us in just makes everything all the more unsettling.
Ian Richardson is perfectly cast in this role. I totally believe and buy the conceit that this man has been set to the side all these years as merely a cog in the Conservative party system. He isn't handsome and on the surface he doesn't have the magnetic persona that a career in politics hinges on. Of course Urquhart is all about the layers of the man. This is a multifaceted character and so Richardson has to find ways to develop each piece. Urquhart lives and breaths his mantra of "You might very well think that but I couldn't' possibly comment". Never do we see the poor rage we know boils under the surface. Ever a consummate politician Urquhart's poker face is completely intact. Acting subtext is one of the greatest challenges an actor must face and Richardson is an absolute master. The most powerful example of this comes in the beginning of the series where Urquhart is passed over for a position in the cabinet. Richardson's face is dead still and yet the tension and desire is pure to be seen. The scene ends with a close up of Urquhart squeezing his hands to a crack. It's brilliant and entertaining.
Surprisingly we like Urquhart and Richardson makes great strides to make us like him. He is introduced to us in the most blatant reference to it's spiritual ancestor 'Richard III' through internal soliloquies and dialogues with the audience. The script clearly casts the audience as Urquhart's co conspirator in his quest for power. This is something that could on face value be played for fear or revulsion but we have to like Urquhart for this to work. Urquhart who has shown nothing but contempt for anybody but himself throughout the series is warm with the audience and above anything else treats them as his intellectual equal. He casts himself as a necessary evil in this world of endless politics and we believe him because of the cunning of Richardson's performance.
The brilliant ending of this first piece of the series has Urquhart leaving the audience with one final address. In the last ten minutes of the final episode Urquhart has committed his worst atrocity. On his way to Buckingham Palace he finally talks down the audience and puts up his defense mechanism, meaning that we were merely a pawn in his own game rather than a co player. It's not necessarily shocking or unpredictable but you really are taken a back by it. Richardson's charisma brings you dangerously close to a Machavellian madmen. Richardson like his character's mastery of deception and charm make Urquhart an all too real master villain who has the audacity to back stab the very audience.
Ian Richardson is perfectly cast in this role. I totally believe and buy the conceit that this man has been set to the side all these years as merely a cog in the Conservative party system. He isn't handsome and on the surface he doesn't have the magnetic persona that a career in politics hinges on. Of course Urquhart is all about the layers of the man. This is a multifaceted character and so Richardson has to find ways to develop each piece. Urquhart lives and breaths his mantra of "You might very well think that but I couldn't' possibly comment". Never do we see the poor rage we know boils under the surface. Ever a consummate politician Urquhart's poker face is completely intact. Acting subtext is one of the greatest challenges an actor must face and Richardson is an absolute master. The most powerful example of this comes in the beginning of the series where Urquhart is passed over for a position in the cabinet. Richardson's face is dead still and yet the tension and desire is pure to be seen. The scene ends with a close up of Urquhart squeezing his hands to a crack. It's brilliant and entertaining.
Surprisingly we like Urquhart and Richardson makes great strides to make us like him. He is introduced to us in the most blatant reference to it's spiritual ancestor 'Richard III' through internal soliloquies and dialogues with the audience. The script clearly casts the audience as Urquhart's co conspirator in his quest for power. This is something that could on face value be played for fear or revulsion but we have to like Urquhart for this to work. Urquhart who has shown nothing but contempt for anybody but himself throughout the series is warm with the audience and above anything else treats them as his intellectual equal. He casts himself as a necessary evil in this world of endless politics and we believe him because of the cunning of Richardson's performance.
The brilliant ending of this first piece of the series has Urquhart leaving the audience with one final address. In the last ten minutes of the final episode Urquhart has committed his worst atrocity. On his way to Buckingham Palace he finally talks down the audience and puts up his defense mechanism, meaning that we were merely a pawn in his own game rather than a co player. It's not necessarily shocking or unpredictable but you really are taken a back by it. Richardson's charisma brings you dangerously close to a Machavellian madmen. Richardson like his character's mastery of deception and charm make Urquhart an all too real master villain who has the audacity to back stab the very audience.