William Tell may as well be Robin Hood in Nick Hamm’s latest film. A man of legend, a marksman, with an extraordinary talent with an arrow. Fighting the rich and protecting the poor. The only difference is that Tell is protecting his country of Switzerland against its invasive neighbour Austria. However, in Hamm’s adaptation, the cast hosts an array of British accents, with the lush alpine landscape being the online sign that this is not about Sherwood’s most famous outlaw.
The film opens with the famous Tell myth, shooting the apple of his son’s head, in 1307 Occupied Switzerland. However, before the famous shot, the film cuts back three days later, with William Tell teaching his son how to hunt, instructing his son to kill a deer mercifully, saying “We’re huntsmen, not savages”. Hamm cuts then to a group of Austrian troops pillaging a Swiss farm. As the farmer escapes, after slaughtering the Austrian general, Tell saves him by helping him flee. An inciting incident that ignites the seed of rebellion.
Throughout there is a comforting feeling of returning to the folklore epic. The medieval setting is quite easy to get into and William Tell is no different. But there are some fun little twists, such as the Austrian King, played by Ben Kingsley donning a tacky golden eye patch. It’s full of violence in a stereotypical tale of dictatorship and rebellion. However, it does feel like the film is missing some bite and edge.
Strangely, it feels quite amateurish at times. Particularly in performances and also within the screenplay. Whilst there is an array of great talent, such as Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Pryce and Rafe Spall, who are all solid (though I thought Ben Kingsley could have had a bit more aggression), it is the lesser-known talent where the film’s issues lie.
Particularly, Claes Bang who plays Tell. Where Tell is supposed to be a charismatic figure who leads a rebellion, Bang’s performance is quite flat and monotone. He is brooding with a gravelly voice. An uninteresting figure it makes it difficult to fully invest in him. Even in his darkest moments, the performance is undersold. Likewise, the dialogue feels a little off at times, things such as the wife calling William Tell, Tell rather than William take you out of the film.
However, the film’s saving grace is Connor Swindells, who plays the head Henchman for the Austrians. Swindells is running rings around the whole cast. Nasty, slightly silly in a spoilt brat kind of way, with a little cockney inflexion, he gives all the layers to provide a gripping performance. A proper over-the-top villain that there isn’t enough of nowadays. The only standout as he takes on a defiant group of rogues, which feels aligned with the tropes of the genre. Nevertheless, an enjoyable second half gives enough oomph to get it over the line, especially a truly gripping 10-minute sequence involving the apple, despite being a little overlong.
William Tell isn’t rewriting the rulebook. It is a little bit of a bumpy ride with some clunky dialogue and an unconvincing central performance. Nevertheless, there is some gripping medieval epic drama here to sink your teeth into, so if you’re into the genre it is worth checking out.
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