Shortcuts to Thinking

Since my day job involves acting as a critic of sorts, I certainly appreciate that everyone has biases. What bothers me, though, are uninformed biases on the part of professionals who have not just the time but also an obligation to get their information right. A case in point is the recent article in the Hollywood Reporter about the costume drama Borgia, featuring Brideshead Revisited’s Jeremy Irons.

After describing the shooting of a scene involving both incest and rape, writer Scott Roxborough goes on to comment, “If you were expecting I, Claudius, you should have stayed home. Because Borgia is not your father’s costume drama.“

While I’m sure Mr. Roxborough is a fine writer, who normally does their homework, that comment may be among the least informed to appear in a reputable publication, suggesting that the writer has never actually watched I, Claudius and probably knows little about the boundary pushing traditions of British costume drama. While some British period pieces definitely lean toward the safe side, some of the most renowned were the ones that pushed the envelope in their subject matter. Even the quintessential Masterpiece Theatre drama Upstairs Downstairs dealt with some fairly heavy subjects like suicide shell-shock during its five-year run.

Nothing tackled quite as many taboos, though, as I, Claudius. Putting aside questions about its historical accuracy, the series is probably the most prevalent pop-culture source for the idea that the emperors of Rome’s Julio-Claudian dynasty presided over an era of unrivaled debauchery. As far as content, the assassinations, many the work of the Empress Livia, are as close to safe as things get. Over the course of a dozen or so hours, we see the worst of human nature on full display. Whether it’s incest, rape, infanticide (sometimes more than one at a time), it’s almost impossible to look away, because it’s fantastic drama and the program is so well made on every level.

Derek Jacobi’s performance in the title role and Sian Phillips as the aforementioned Livia are just two of the fantastic performances at work here. Brian Blessed as Augustus, George Baker as Tiberius and especially John Hurt as Caligula all did some of the best work of their long careers here, often taking characters that border on monstrous and making them compelling. And though, it was shot all in studios it rarely feels stagy. In fact, the camera work is nearly as fluid as anything you’ll see in contemporary drama productions.

Of course, to appreciate this you have to watch the show, something Scott Roxburgh apparently couldn't be bothered to do before dismissing it. I suspect that anyone watching I, Claudius for the first time would be taken aback not just by the content but also the fact that it was ever able to be shown on regular broadcast television in America. However, that's not the sort of thing you notice if your path to judgment is a shortcut to thinking.