Review of Restoration (1995) by Catherine D — 14 Mar 2010

R is for Restoration.

Dr. Robert Merivel (Robert Downey Jr.) is a physician in training at the Royal College in London in 1664, at the dawn of the restoration of King Charles II (Sam Neill). Merivel lacks the austerity and dedication of his friend Dr. John Pierce (David Thewlis), preferring instead to pawn his medical equipment to pay for drink and women. Yet he has a true gift, and when his skills bring him to the king's attention and he heals one of the royal dogs, Merivel is brought into the lavish life of the court. His wasteful, foolish ways soon make him good for only one thing: as "husband" to the king's favorite mistress, Lady Celia (Polly Walker). With this arranged sham marriage, Merivel gains new wealth and an estate and soon finds a kind spirit in his housekeeper Mr. Gates (Ian McKellen). This joy is to be short-lived, however, since as soon as he falls in love with and makes a pass at his wife, all the king's favors are taken away. With nowhere else to turn, Merivel joins his old friend Pierce at a Quaker hospital, where his healing skills quickly return and lead to some novel treatments. Sadly, his faults are not quite behind him, and he makes the mistake of sleeping with one of his patients, a young woman named Katherine (Meg Ryan). In short order, Pierce dies of tuberculosis and Robert returns to London with the pregnant Katherine. There he finds himself in the midst of the Black Plague, but it is only after he loses Katherine in childbirth that he decides to return to medicine in this time of greatest need. His healing works bring him again to the notice of the king, and he comes full circle, this time healing his own wife - still the king's mistress - and regaining his home as well as his profession.

The length of that plot summary explains most of the faults of this film: it tries to do too much. The costumes and set design are gaudy but thereby accurate to the Restoration period. The acting is neither here nor there, though the cast is impressive, and one can hardly overlook the ironic significance of Robert Downey Jr. playing a character who has abandoned his skills and wasted his life, only to find that "inner light" again in the end. I can't say I find the plot all that believable, but it has a certain symmetry and arc to it. And as a soon-to-be physician myself, I can't help but feel a swell of pride and excitement at all the medical details woven into the film, even if they are all archaic and dramatized.

Overall, a sometimes silly and frivolous film with an overambitious plot and mediocre acting, but a story worth telling with plenty of interesting moments.