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Australia, United States · 2019
Rated R · 2h 20m
Director David Michôd
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Tom Glynn-Carney
Genre Drama, History, War
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Set in the 15th century following young King Henry V's coronation. The reluctant ruler must navigate palace politics and impending war in this epic period drama.
In spite of all the reasons that this film should have been another "Outlaw King" – silly and self-important – it manages to cleverly duck and dive around nearly all of them. It’s a feat that speaks to the deftness and intelligence of the approach that Michôd and Edgerton take with their writing and direction, giving us an epic period piece that actually fulfills much of that ambition.
Full of surprises ... It’s a historical piece that defies expectation and offers both the thrills of battle and a thoughtful critique of war and imperialism.
The King is so eager to be a mud-and-guts epic about inherited violence and the corruption of power that it loses sight of the rich coming-of-age story at its core.
The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney
This is a large-canvas treatment both epic and intimate in scale.
The King feels disconnected and unurgent. Despite some wonderful moments, it perhaps lacks the requisite majesty.
Too many movies set in this period end up as action films in medieval drag. The excitement of “The King” is that Michôd lays out the consequences of combat with gruesome precision, demythologizing the battle.
Sure, some of the historical detail is terrible (did Henry V really get crowned topless?) and Shakespeare purists may scream heresy, but director David Michôd has done something genuinely fresh and confident with this well-told piece of English folklore.
Without the Shakespearean language, this is just an ahistorical story about a king and a battle. ... But it’s nothing fancy, really, nothing newfangled or inventive. This is a pretty straight-down-the-middle period war-king film, a true Boy Movie of respectable pedigree but no real distinction.
The King, written by Michôd and Edgerton, zips along—it never feels like a slog, though it still has a satisfyingly hefty dramatic weight.
One watches Chalamet’s performance here with a simmering unease, willing him on but wondering if he is entirely fit for the task.
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