The Crown - Season 4 (Amazon Excl.) [DVD] [2021]

I'm surprised by the hostile reviews this Series 4 of "The Crown" has received on Amazon.I thought it was consistent with the first three in terms of acting, production values and dramatic impact.Some people accuse it if being anti-establishment, anti-Thatcherite, and historically inaccurate. More than one claim that it wrongly states that in 1979 Ireland was still ruled by England. This claim IS made in the first episode, but only by the unseen IRA spokesman.As for being anti-Thatcher, I was surprised how sympathetically she was portrayed. I actually felt sorry for her when she was treated so badly at Balmoral by the Royal Family.I wonder if these complainers would object if the tone was pro-Establishment, pro-Thatcher. I doubt it somehow.In fact I found it pretty even-handed, and no more "unauthentic" historically than the previous series, but the events are much more recent than Series 1-3 and visually more vivid in our memories because of extensive film and media coverage at the time and ever since.Olivia Colman, Josh O'Connor & co cannot hope to look exactly like the familiar personages they're playing, but manage to give a dramatic account of them with considerable skill. I would suggest that nobody would object to "Prince Charles" being too young, or "The Queen" too chirpy and bright -eyed in a stage play, but with film and TV they expect documentary realism.Yet Colin Firth looked nothing like King George VI in "The King's Speech", and none of the actors who've played Winston Churchill in recent films have borne more than a passing resemblance to him.Bizarrely, the performance here that has attracted most criticism is the one that is the most accurate straightforward impersonation : Gillian Anderson gives an astonishingly realistic performance as Margaret Thatcher......the voice, the body language, the tension. All credit, too, to the hair and make-up artists, whose skill combines with Ms Anderson's superb acting to make me totally forget I was watching an actor rather than the oh-so-familiar figure she was playing.She even managed to give Mrs Thatcher moments of sympathy.....what an achievement!🐱Another standout performance, in a standout episode, is that of Tom Brooke, the actor playing Michael Fagan.Not all the casting is so impressive. There is an air of caricature to some of the supporting cast of Royals, the plummy accents just that bit too overdone, and figures such as Princess Anne, the Queen Mother and the younger princes are sketchy and not particularly accurate.The all-important casting of Princess Diana is, overall, a success. Emma Corrin makes the character her own, though not necessarily the Diana of popular imagination. She's feistier than you expect, and physically too healthy-looking. She never has that worrying thinness that the real lady developed.But as I indicated earlier, this is after drama, not a documentary. Ms Corrin is portraying one of of the most famous faces of the twentieth century, one that the media thrust at us relentlessly before and after her death. No actress could hope to totally convince, but for the purposes of this drama she is effective enough. Her eyes are amazingly expressive.How accurate are the scripts regarding what was said and done behind closed doors by the Royals and the politicians? Who knows? It's a dramatisation, like any such work of entertainment from Shakespeare's history plays to "Wolf Hall" or "The Madness of King George."It works as filmed drama, for me anyway.The one thing that did worry me was that twice we were warned that there were to be scenes of a woman being sick,which might be upsetting! Oh, Heavens Above! Are we really that sensitive? There was no warning that we were about to see a beautiful stag wounded, stalked and finally killed. Nor that the first episode concerned the horrific murder of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA.It turns out the killing of the stag was achieved by CGI, which is a relief, but I do think that those viewers who are concerned about animal suffering should have been warned.The series' final image, a close-up of Diana as press photographers' flashbulbs explode in her face, is a powerful and poignant premonition of what is to come.But I think Series 5 will need a totally new cast.....they are all looking too young, and Olivia Colman's Queen increasingly reminds me of Joyce Grenfell!

Good acting and quite respectful of the characters. Diana was portrayed very realistically.

we had seen 1-3 so 4 brings us up to date

Really enjoyed the continuing story. Facts into fiction.

Great

All of the actors play their part well in this series. But I think a special mention must go to Gillian Anderson for her role as Margaret Thatcher: A stunning portrayal. The look, mannerisms, style and voice are uncanny, as well as her walk and she deserves to win an award for such dedication to getting that role as close to the Prime Minister as must be humanly possible.For me, this fourth series is the most enjoyable. I cannot vouch for the historical accuracy in some parts but watched as a close comparison to the events, it is extremely entertaining.

Season 4 and previous seasons have been very expensively produced. The series has good acting, authentic locations, uniforms, cars, horses, etc. Where would the Royal Family be without its cars and horses?However, dramatized history is not the same as history. The Crown has been adjusted for the sake of dramatic impact.Season 4 continues the rather tragic tone of the series. The protagonists are not getting along;, they are at odds with their jobs and their personal relationships, sometimes to the point of breakdown.. In short, we are treated to a series of tragedies. My reaction after watching all four of the seasons has been to reach for a dvd of a Peter Sellers film. Alternatively, anything with Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, etc.The Crown suffers from a lack of humour, or comic relief if you will. Great dramatists ranging from Shakespeare to Noel Coward, knew the value of occasional light relief. In the Crown, we have the Duke of Edinburgh, who always had "a twinkle", to quote from a recent royal speech. . This lighter element seems to be missing from the Crown, especially season 4.It is good entertainment , but it could be better.

Worth a watch