Burton and Taylor

Excellent actors playing excellent actors--and largely succeeding.

Burton And Taylor is not comprehensive or perfect as a film--the direction in particular is lackluster--but as a character study in both writing and acting it is, as Burton says of Taylor herself, “peerless.”

Her voice seems to roam all over the vocal register, but she is compelling.... West will make you forget he’s acting.

It is less a portrait of two combustible stars, played with empathy and breathtaking control by Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter, as it is a surprisingly thoughtful excavation of a love that is both undeniable and untenable.

The result is surprisingly interesting, fun and, at times, even quite moving.

Though Helena Bonham Carter struggles to get Taylor's voice just right--it sounds more like a Madeline Kahn impression--she's a gas as aging party girl Liz. Dominic West's Dick, meanwhile, is a model of worldweary dignity. If only they, and their film, were quite as gloriously messy as Liz and Dick themselves. [18 Oct 2013, p.60]

Burton and Taylor confines itself to the nine months of the tour, and while that’s a wise decision, it does mean we only get allusions to other aspects of their relationship.