Sharpe's Company (1994)

Strong and Moving!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Sharpe's Company is the third TV film in the series based on Bernard Cornwell novel. It tells the life of Richard Sharpe, an officer who serves in the British Army during the Napoleanic wars. This film is set years after Sharpe's Eagle in 1812 and Sharpe had become a Captain and fathered a child with the Spanish resistance fighter Teresa during that time. At the beginning of the film the British Army fought a tough battle against the French and Sharpe's commanding office Colonel Lawford is badly injured. Because of this he is relieved of his command and a new Colonel takes command of the regiment and bring in his own officers. Sharpe is demoted and loses command of the Chosen Men. Also with the new recruit is Sharpe's old enemy from years before, Sergeant Obidiah Hakeswill (Pete Postlethwaite). The new officers make Sharpe into no more then a desk clerk, and his Chosen Men are being humiliated, being turned into ordinary soldiers. Hakeswill is on a personal vendetta against Sharpe through the siege of Badajoz, sucking up to the officers so he can't be punished and making the Chosen Men do tasks like digging a trench. In the middle of this Teresa is spying for the English in the fortress.What I like about Cornwell novels and the Sharpe films is that it shows a mix picture with the British army and that they was a lot of politics and positioning within the army. The French are casted as the enemy, but they are not made as pure evil, like the English were in Braveheart or the British in the Patriot. The big enemy was with the British army itself. Pete Postlethwaite steals the show as the villain of the film, and he was great being sleazy and psychopathic. They are also solid performance from Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley and Marc Warren.This is not as action packed as the previous two Sharpe films, but that's because the military focus was on the siege and not any battles. At times it was a little slow, but the personal focus was still needed and in general it was a good Sharpe film.

**SPOILER**I like Pete Postlethwaite. Or at least, I liked Pete Postlethwaite until I saw him in Sharpe's Company. Now he scares me. Obediah was so devastatingly evil in the books that I couldn't imagine who could possibly play him in the film. Now I know that no one else could have done it quite like Pete did. The balance between seriously nutty insanity and murderous rage is almost poetic. And anyone else would have looked really silly on that donkey, but somehow, he pulled it off. Once again, Bean and company don't disappoint. It was particularly good to see Harry Price exactly as he should have been, although I was horrified that they (apparently) let Hakeswill murder him in Badajoz. The taking of the city was particularly well executed, the scenes of the soldiers running riot extremely disquieting. I think this could almost be my favourite Sharpe ever.

Third in the Sharpe series , Sharpe's Company introduces Sharpe's nemesis , Sergeant Obidiah Hakeswill ( Peter Postlethwaite ) .Hakeswill is a thoroughly nasty piece of work , having had Sharpe flogged when he was a young soldier , and starts with the same tricks again.This film gives some idea of the tribulations of the ordinary Redcoats , at the whim of sometimes hopeless Officers whose commissions were bought , and who wanted NCOs who kept order , and didn't mind how it was done.As with many of the Sharpe series , this is based around a historic battle . In this case it is the battle of Badajoz , where Hakeswill gets up to even more mischief .Another great Postlethwaite performance !

The wonderful thing about Sharpe's Company is that it can be viewed alone, and without knowledge of the novels, or it can be viewed in the series, or it can be viewed after reading the novel. Most of the other films, if one is familiar with the novels, seem to be "view at your own risk." Sharpe's Rifles springs to mind as one of those. But they got it right with Sharpe's Company. The plot is the same, just less time spent setting it up. Accuracy is a key element to this one (accurate to the novel, not the history). For historical purists, the reader's note Bernard Cornwell puts at the end of the novel is a necessity if one is familiar with the siege of Badajoz. As for the plot, fully formed, it actually makes sense, and, of course, the hero and his sidekick will have to live to fight another day. It's part of a series, and that always makes you feel good, since you know Sharpe and Harper aren't going to die. As for the rest, Hakeswill's first appearance is a delight, and Pete Postlethwaite outshines the rest of the cast. Sean Bean is, of course, in perfect character, but out acted by Daragh O'Malley. In short, Sharpe's Company is an excellent introduction to the Sharpe series, even though it is not meant to be the first, and a fitting addition wherever it belongs in the real order of things.