In order to keep one of his mistresses, Celia (Polly Walker), at arm’s length, King Charles II (Sam Neill) asks the royal physician, Robert Merivel (Robert Downey Jr.), to marry her under the proviso that they never become intimate. Merivel agrees, only to discover he can’t resist Celia, and soon finds himself out of the king’s favor. Destitute, he devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman, Katherine (Meg Ryan).
Michael Hoffman’s “Restoration” plunges us into the heart of 17th century England, and the court of Charles II, who followed the austere Cromwell years with a riotous time of sensual excess. Never before in the movies have I seen such a riotous depiction of period London: The overwhelming excess of the royal court, the teeming traffic on the Thames, the bridges groaning with buildings and people, the streets jammed with life and lowlife, the delight in all the pleasures of the flesh – and then, like two grim wake-up calls, the Black Plague and the Great Fire. – Roger Ebert
The film’s satirically garish, wildly overblown costume and production design is among its sly marvels. “Restoration” crams in more research and period detail than it can comfortably digest, but its story is not overwhelmed by such overkill. This big, rollicking film has more than enough heart.- New York Times
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan.
Note: “Restoration” is based on a 1989 novel by Rose Tremain which was short-listed for the Booker Prize in England. The motion picutre won two 1995 Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.