Wolf Hall

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Year

2015

Movie time

360 min

Directed by

N/A

Cast

Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Claire Foy

8.1/10

IMDB

01E01 - Three Card Trick

Thomas Cromwell's (Mark Rylance) patron, Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce), is dismissed as Lord Chancellor and forced to flee his palace at York Place. The old noble families of England, jealous of their own right to advise the King, have long waited for this moment. Cromwell readies Wolsey's palace in exile at Esher and sets forth a plan to return him to the King's favour. Thomas More (Anton Lesser) is appointed Lord Chancellor in the Cardinal's place. The Cardinal has not endeared himself in Court, with many believing him to be too powerful and greedy. Eight years ago, at the height of the Cardinal's career, he made an enemy of Thomas Boleyn (David Robb) by chastising him for his daughter Anne's far from virtuous reputation. As rumours circulated in Court that Anne was secretly betrothed to Harry Percy (Harry Lloyd), the Cardinal insisted that no such match would be allowed. Still lacking a male heir, the King is desperate for an annulment from his marriage to Katherine of Aragon (Joanne Whalley), claiming she was not a virgin on their wedding day. The Cardinal's efforts to persuade the Pope to grant the annulment are fruitless. An alliance between the Pope and Katherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor, diminishes the Cardinal's position even further. As Henry (Damian Lewis) grows impatient, the pressure increases on the Cardinal. To add to this, rumours reach the Cardinal that the King's new mistress is Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy), who has sworn vengeance on him over Harry Percy. Cromwell visits Anne, urging her that only the Cardinal can secure what she wants, but Anne is unmoved. The Duke of Norfolk (Bernard Hill), nervous of the Cardinal's continuing proximity to the King, insists on Wolsey moving north to his archdiocese in York. A desperate Cromwell finally meets directly with Henry, but the King is nothing if not ambiguous. Will he recall the Cardinal, or turn on him?

Date: 05 Apr 2015
IMDB id: tt3720850
IMDB rating: N/A
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