Becket is a very fine, but in some moment a bit boring film about a friendship and a fight between the king Henry III. (O'Toole) and his chancellor Samuel Becket (Burton).
Even though Burton should be leading character of the film (and he is, because he is the center of the film's attention), the real star of it is king Henry. The reason of this fact is called Peter O'Toole. His portrayal of king Henry is something magnificent. He plays every moment with a great passion and though he's overacting sometimes, it absolutely doesn't matter and it fits his character perfectly.
On the other hand we have Richard Burton. The film doesn't allow him to show off his talent. He does everything the film wants him to, but he is getting lost next to O'Toole's performance. I mean, Henry gives O'Toole a great acting opportunity and he uses it excellently, but Burton has got a very subtle and disinteresting character.
Burton, though, has got some great scenes (especially at the end), but because the character paralyzes him, he cannot do anything that would be somehow remarkable. Therefore it's very hard for me to judge this performance. Because Burton did a very good job playing this character, it's just that the script didn't allow him to do something more with it.
The picture I've chosen for this review actually symbolizes how the performances work in the film. O'Toole is acting and Burton just stands in the corner, because he has to.
From O'Toole's performance I have to choose two best scenes. The first one is when the messenger comes and the second one is when Henry has kind of a heart attack. Burton's best is probably the court scene.
The chances of winning an Oscar: If Harrison didn't win, I think Peter O'Toole would get his beloved award. Burton was probably right behind him...
I liked both of them, but O'Toole was the stand out.
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