King Lear is a 2018 film directed by Richard Eyre based on William Shakespeare play of the same name. Set in a heavily militarised alternate version of present-day England, Lear (Anthony Hopkins) decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. But when Cordelia doesn't submit to his requests for flattery in order to earn her share of the kingdom, he cuts her off. While Cordelia leaves England to marry the King of France, Lear opts instead to rely on his eldest daughters, who both regard him with thinly-veiled contempt.
Provides examples of:
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Goneril and Regan act annoyed when Cordelia asks them to look after their father as leaves for France.
- Eye Scream: The film doesn't skimp on the Gorn when it comes to the blinding of Gloucester.
- Killed Offscreen: Both Goneril and Regan meet their ends offscreen. Averted with The Fool whose death is shown onscreen despite dying offstage in the original play.
- Musical World Hypotheses: If you listen carefully, there are a few snippets of dialogue done as normal contemporary speech rather than in the Shakespearian style (e.g., Regan and Cornwall whispering to one another in the Tower of London, the French army planning their next offensive). This suggests that the dialogue taken from Shakespeare may be non-diegetic and is instead used as a metaphor to convey the drama of the situation.
- Setting Update: The play is set in what appears to be an alternate version of 2018, where Lear rules England as the head of a militarised dictatorship.
- Traumatic Haircut: Kent shaves off all his hair after he's exiled by Lear.
