Corin Redgrave makes men accustomed to being obeyed uncomfortable company. We value his supporting work for the unease beneath the authority, though the formality can sometimes keep the person at a distance.
Fi1m perspective
Corin Redgrave's men in authority seldom look like reassuring company. He is frequently cast as establishment figures who are compromised or inwardly conflicted, and we find him persuasive in those parts. His early film work includes William Roper in A Man for All Seasons (1966), though early performances also drew criticism for stiffness and self-consciousness. We would not mistake stiffness for depth merely because an actor has been given someone important to play.
John Boorman's Excalibur (1981) gives him Cornwall and surrounds him with bloodshed and sorcery. We find the spectacle involving, but the people sometimes get lost in the telling. That makes it an imperfect introduction to an actor whose work here is necessarily supporting. Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren and Alex Thomson's photography supply the clearest reasons to watch. Boorman's taste for solemn speeches is a further caveat: anyone coming chiefly for the performances will need patience.
Stronger character roles followed from the late 1980s, including Robert Dixon, the lead police investigator in Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father (1993). His familiar authority has a clear use in this miscarriage-of-justice drama. We were moved by the difficult father-and-son relationship, which makes the injustice personal despite the heavy emotional prompting. Redgrave is a memorable presence, but Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite are the reason to endure its discomfort.
The comic supporting role of Hamish in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) offers a less severe use for his formality. So does the vain Sir Walter Elliot in Persuasion (1995). His stage work also matters: Boss Whalen, the prison warden in Not About Nightingales (1998), was menacing and physically imposing. We would keep those comic parts in mind before assuming that solemnity was all he had to offer. Start with In the Name of the Father, without expecting Redgrave to occupy its centre.
Biography
Corin William Redgrave (16 July 1939 – 6 April 2010) was an English actor and political activist. He was the only son of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and brother of actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave. He was educated at Westminster School and King's College, Cambridge.
Redgrave appeared in character roles in films including A Man for All Seasons (1966), Excalibur (1981), In the Name of the Father (1993) as Robert Dixon, and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) as Hamish. He also worked extensively in theatre and television, with credits including Persuasion (1995) as Sir Walter Elliot.
A left-wing activist, he co-founded the Marxist Party with his sister Vanessa. He was married to actress Kika Markham from 1985 until his death. He died in Tooting, London, aged 70.
