Review of Restoration (1995) by Deborah F — 28 Mar 2011

I have always adored this movie. A musical score featuring Henry Purcell's English Baroque compositions, Sam Neill's brilliant performance as the capricious and cavalier King Charles II, Robert Downey Jr.

's masterful portrayal of the compassionate, enlightened physician Robert Merivel, and director Michael Hoffman's artistic vision make for compelling storytelling. I cannot help but cry at moments of Merivel's breakthroughs in treating madness, melancholia and maladies in an age of medieval medicine and Bubonic Plague.

Eugenio Zanetti absolutely warranted the Oscar for Best Art Direction for his majestic and colorful sets of the Royal Court and Merivel's Bidnold estate, and his historically authentic recreation of 1660's London.

James Acheson deservedly won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for his meticulously detailed, romantic interpretation of dress both high and low in Restoration England.