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nextian:

pretty-rage-machine:

nextian:

codalion:

If anyone had asked me “favorite love story” on that movie meme, this would’ve been one of my 3 answers.

“You count the days.”

“I made the numbers up.”

I have never watched this show and probably never will but my heart just broke a little

what is context

This is a movie called The Lion in Winter, starring the absolutely unparalleled Katherine Hepburn in the greatest performance of her career, not that I have any opinions about this movie or anything, and Peter O’Toole in see all the previous adjectives I just used. It’s about King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Henry met Eleanor when he was a young exiled prince and she, ten years his senior, was the queen of France with lots of daughters. He was ferocious and charming and hot, and she was gorgeous and world-traveled and brilliant and bored to tears. And they were in love! She secured the world’s least convincing annulment from her husband King Louis and ran off with Henry, who, remember, wasn’t even king yet, except he very rapidly took the throne and conquered parts of France as well because, why not? and then Eleanor added insult to injury by bearing her young, world-conquering husband all the sons Louis hadn’t been able to manage (four of them) and ably assisting with home rule and introducing the art of her home province to a much wider and eventually very influential audience.

But the thing is that when you are two incredibly arrogant and powerful and intelligent people, you can come up with really creative ways to hurt each other. Henry falls in love with a bunch of other people, Eleanor starts clutching at fingerhold after fingerhold of power, and they begin to use the other people in their lives against each other. Notably, their first son, who Henry II named king and then wouldn’t let rule, and who Eleanor backed even when he moved in rebellion against the crown of England. And who then dies. And who then is the pretext Henry uses to throw Eleanor in prison.

So in the movie it’s years after their eldest has been killed, and Eleanor’s been in prison, and their three remaining sons have arrayed themselves in very complicated ways against their parents, and Louis’ daughter is Henry’s new mistress and Louis’ son is king of France and incidentally one of the prince’s ex-lover, and everyone tries to sell everyone out to everyone else. And as Eleanor and Henry actively try, if not to kill each other, then to ruin every last scrap of meaning left in each others’ lives, they are shown to be totally still 100% in love with each other.

AND IT’S AMAZING.

This movie has been my #1 favorite movie since I had to watch it in class as a high school freshman. I used to be able to recite whole monologues from it, and I would occasionally (randomly) say shit like: “I’d hang you from the nipples, but you’d shock the children,” and “For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little?!”

I love this movie so much that I have a giant framed poster of it in my bedroom.

It’s a fucking incredible film. THE ACTING, OH MY GOD. AND THE SEXY ANGST OF RICHARD/PHILIP. “OTP: YOU BROKE MY LIONHEART” AM I RIGHT?!

Shh, just watch.