Not a Tame Lion

Directed by Craig Bettendorf, Not a Tame Lion explores the life and career of an openly gay linguist and historian named John Boswell – with the emphasis placed on his ongoing efforts at proving that same sex unions were treated with respect throughout medieval Europe. It’s fascinating subject matter that is, for the most part, employed to stunningly, aggressively tedious effect by Bettendorf, as the filmmaker delivers a sluggishly-paced and completely academic documentary that feels padded-out to an often extraordinary degree – which does ensure, in turn, that the movie suffers from a let’s-get-on-with-it-already feel that grows more and more problematic as time slowly progresses. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that Not a Tame Lion‘s failure comes down to Bettendorf’s decision to stress stories and anecdotes of a shockingly underwhelming nature (eg an entire digression devoted to a Christmas party), and although it admittedly possesses a small handful of intriguing stretches, the movie’s exceedingly, excessively dry atmosphere renders its positive attributes moot and paves the way for an absolutely endless second half. (It doesn’t help, certainly, that the picture runs a ludicrous 119 minutes, with the inclusion of several interminable speeches within the final half hour doing little to alleviate the wildly overlong vibe.) The final result is a predominantly ineffective endeavor that could only have worked in the context of a short segment on a news program, which is a shame, undoubtedly, given that Boswell does seem to have lived an interesting life and made many important discoveries.

* out of ****