Susan Granger’s review of “KING OF TEXAS” (TNT-TV premiere: Sunday, June 2nd)
The Western frontier is the provocative setting for this epic updating of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Patrick Stewart stars as John Lear, a powerful Texas rancher whose family is torn apart when he demands that his three daughters prove their love in order to inherit his land. While the older girls (Marica Gay Harden, Lauren Holly) secure their future with cynical, manipulative lies, his youngest (Julie Cox) refuses to be part of the deceit and is banished. As she seeks shelter with the family of her father’s mortal enemy, her sisters viciously turn on their father, setting the stage for an explosive outcome evoking the racial tensions among Texans, Tejanos and Mexicans. While most television viewers associate Patrick Stewart with “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” this versatile, talented actor was a valued member of Britain’s prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, where he, in fact, performed “King Lear.” Screenwriter Stephen Harrigan and director Uli Edel (“Mists of Avalon”) draw historical parallels between English history during Shakespeare’s era and the Texas formative period of the 1840s, when ambitious men amassed great fortunes which were coveted by their children. It was a time full of “machinations, hollowness, treachery and all ruinous disorders.” Shakespeare’s inherent theme of blindness is apparent in John Lear’s inability to discern what is real honesty, true love and devotion, as well as what other people’s needs are. On the Granger Made-for-TV Movie Gauge, “King of Texas” is an intense, intriguing 8. It premieres at 10 PM on TNT, Sunday, June 2, with repeats scheduled during the rest of the month.
