In Cooperation with ARTE G.E.I.E.
Thomas Cromwell is a widower and a social climber among the landed English gentry of the 15th century, a poker-faced Machiavelli, whose disarming fearlessness sees him first appointed as a jurist working for the catholic Cardinal Wolsey and then as a close adviser to King Henry VIII. himself. And both as an architect of the brutal move against the church and as a co-conspirator against Anna Boleyn he changes not only the court but the whole country to such a radical extent that it soon seems unclear whether the king is driving him on or he the king. Cromwell, who was maybe the first modern career politician, has been subject of Shakespeare plays and Oscar-winning films. This miniseries, an adaptation of Hilary Mantel's historical novel, shows the man, who even 500 years after his death is one of the most controversial English politicians ever, as a character torn between his roles as a brilliant and principled reformer and as a scheming power broker. Perfectly cast with an impressive Mark Rylance in the lead and more master actors in supporting roles, like the Hollywood Reporter Award 2015 winner Mathieu Amalric.
