I seem to have watched a couple of Billy Crudup films over the past week. First up was Stage Beauty.
Actor
Edward "Ned" Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is the most desired man
in all of London. The Restoration is in full swing, and enthusiastic audiences of aristocrats and commoners pack the theatres that were shuttered during the Puritans' joyless rule.
With only men permitted to tread the boards, the greatest acclaim is reserved for the actor who is the complete "female stage beauty" - and indisputably, Ned Kynaston is that actor.
Lusted after
by women and men alike, Ned commands all the perks of a star; at the same time,
he is a dedicated actor who runs lines with his stage dresser Maria (Claire
Danes), who quietly adores him.
Every night, Ned's death scene as Desdemona in Othello stops the show.
But the winds of change are
blowing - and they sound like the rustling of women's skirts. Ironically, it is
Maria who ushers in a new era with her pseudonymous portrayal of Desdemona in
an after-hours pub production of Othello.
After years of men-as-women, Maria is a
sensation, a novelty whose time has come. King Charles II (Rupert Everett),
prodded by his stage-struck mistress Nell Gwynne (Zoe Tapper), not only
overturns the ban on actresses but also prohibits men from playing female
roles.
Overnight, Ned's career is ruined as a host of fledgling actresses take
on the parts that he once owned body and soul. Ned is headed for a has-been's
twilight in tawdry attractions.
That is, until Maria takes it upon herself to
make an actor of him again.
Finally, the masks fall away to reveal Ned and
Maria's true feelings, but not before Ned undergoes a profound inner journey to
discover his complete identity.
I love watching Billy Crudup, Stage
Beauty, based on the
play Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher, takes Crudup's acting to another level. He has an androgynous look and a naturalness and lightness of touch that makes him believable in any role he takes and it is a credit to his skill that he is totally believable here as both man and woman.