BEFORE: When I realized I was working a theme based on identity, it made sense to move this one up in the line-up, because it's all about identities and the switching thereof. And I've vowed not to watch those body-switching films like "Freaky Friday" or "The Change-Up" or that horrible film with Judge Reinhold, so what other course do I have? Linking from "Bewitched", Nicole Kidman was also in "Practical Magic" with Aidan Quinn (last seen in "Unknown").
THE PLOT: Two lookalike boys, one a poor street kid and the other a prince, exchange places to see what the other's life is like.
AFTER: This much is historical fact: Edward VI was the son of Henry VIII, and became king at the age of nine. Mark Twain got the year right, and speculated that just before his father died, Edward engaged in a bit of play and switched places with a poor kid who happened to look just like him. Now, this was before the age of fingerprinting and DNA, so a facial resemblance was probably enough to make the switch happen - and before you go speculating about lost twins or switched babies, this is possible. I just saw photos online last week about people who looked nearly identical who were NOT twins and had never met before. Turns out there are only so many possible combinations of eye, nose and mouth shapes, so if you scan through a large enough sampling of people, you can find a 99% visual match.
This film, of course, gets around the issue by casting identical twin actors - so no "split-screen" technology was required to create nearly identical characters. This was a made-for-TV version, so obviously it was done on the cheap. It reminds me of a show that ran once, exposing some of magic's "biggest secrets". My wife and I watched the show, and we paused each trick before the reveal, each taking our best guess at how a trick was done. The trick where someone disappears on one side of the stage and then instantly appears on the other - we paused it and I said "That's simple, it's a set of twins!" She said, "No WAY!" but I turned out to be right. Eliminate the impossible, and whatever's left, however improbable, must be true.
I remember hearing about a rivalry between Mark Twain and Charles Dickens (of course, now I can't find that reference) and if you believe that, then Twain's story can be seen as a response to "A Tale of Two Cities", which also features two unrelated men who look very much alike, one a French aristocrat and the other an English lawyer. Dickens' story came first by two decades, but the similarities are telling, and the switch occurs for the same purpose: to make observations on the different social classes.
We can understand why Tom Canty, a poor boy, would want to switch places with a prince, but why would a prince want to make the switch? This film suggests that after studying Latin and Greek, and learning so much about manners and the affairs of state, being able to run free and play in the mud might sound like an attractive prospect to a prince. However, both boys get into more trouble than they bargained for, and are caught up in criminal matters - Tom, in disguise as the prince, urges mercy for an accused killer who was framed by Tom's father, and Edward is framed for stealing a pig.
Edward also gets a close-up look at what effect overtaxing has on the countryside, and how flimsy the evidence is that can convict people for crimes, especially when being Jewish or Baptist, or anything other than Anglican is considered a crime. That's what you get when there's no separation of church and state, kids...
No one will listen to either child when he claims to be something other than what he appears - most everyone assumes that the poor boy is just pretending to be the prince, or the prince has a form of madness. Considering all the inbreeding done among the noble class, you've got to admit that's a distinct possibility.
But as for identity, this film falls on the side of the argument that you can change what you do, but you can't change who you are. Edward is still the prince and heir, even while disguised as a poor boy, and it's his education and his drive to return to London that help put things back in order. Tom was thisclose to being the first commoner crowned king - but he never had the resources to straighten out the mix-up.
Also starring Alan Bates (last seen in "The Mothman Prophecies"), Jonathan Hyde (last seen in "Jumanji"), Jonathan Timmins, Robert Timmins, Ian Redford.
RATING: 4 out of 10 proclamations
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