The King (2019)
Directed by David Michod, written by Joel Edgerton and David Michod
Currently doing the rounds on Netflix, this ambitious and quite long film was the brainchild of Australian creatives, David Michod and Joel Edgerton, part of the Blue-Tongue Films collective – which also includes Michod’s partner, Mirrah Foulkes, director of Judy & Punch (2019).
I love a good historical drama and this was based partly on real life events and the Shakespearean Henriad. After seeing Timothee Chalamet, who was so perfect as Laurie in Little Women earlier this week, I thought this would be a good vehicle for him. Sadly, I found it largely a disappointment.
While the production design by Fiona Crombie (The Favourite) is stunning, the score by Nicholas Britell and the cinematography by Adam Arkapaw excellent, I found the colour palette a little too sombre – like being hit over the head constantly about how drab life was in the 15th century. But it was the dialogue and delivery that lacked most for me.
Having a long love affair with Shakespeare’s plays, I found the script and acting not up to the lofty standards set by Branagh’s epic Henry V (1989) and more recently, The Hollow Crown (2014) and overall, it seemed that this generation’s ‘bright young things’ were having a stab at something deeper than a teen drama.
Having said that, it does have some good moments. The Battle of Agincourt is very well done, delivering all the mud and blood in a style obviously borrowed from Game of Thrones’ season 6 ‘Battle of the Bastards’ – which was itself, inspired by Agincourt. Ben Mendelsohn (who seems to be in everything at the moment) was great as Henry IV but didn’t have a lot of screen time, as did Thomasin McKenzie as Hal’s sister, Phillipa. Sean Harris who I first saw in The Borgias was excellent as Henry V’s advisor, William and could convey more with a glance than many with a page of dialogue. Unfortunately, Robert Pattinson’s Louis was more comical than lethal and Joel Edgerton reminded me more of a young Russell Crowe than Falstaff. Lily-Rose Depp, looking gorgeous as ever is suitably decorative as Catherine but above all, I felt Chalamet was out of his depth with this role, never really conveying the inner conflict that Hal undergoes in becoming Henry. In fairness, I don’t think the script served him particularly well in that quarter.
In conclusion, it’s okay and I’m sure with the added push of Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company and Netflix, it will get a lot of coverage and hopefully, bring younger audiences to this classic story. But overall, at nearly two and a half hours, The King made me pine for Tom Hiddleston’s version of Hal and especially, Simon Russell Beale’s Falstaff.
Debra Manskey 