Let me be clear from the outset, this genre doesn’t usually grab me so it was an absolute surprise how much I loved this movie. The scenery, the action, the acting, the story, the subtle humour, even the battle scenes, but mostly the surprises. Definitely look out for The King and if you’re lucky go see it on the big screen.
Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet), should be living the life surrounded by riches on his way to taking over the English throne. Instead we find him living amongst the people with his closest friend and mentor, the ageing alcoholic knight, Sir John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). His escape from his brutal father Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn) leaves his younger brother happily in the box seat to rule the land.
However it’s not long before Hal is summoned home to his fathers death bed where he is reluctantly crowned King Henry V. As a young king he must quickly navigate the politics, chaos and war his father left behind. Central to this is the fractious relationship with France, headed up by the young Dauphin of France (Robert Pattinson). Two young men with such power what could possibly go wrong?
It’s always a treat seeing Ben Mendelsohn and once again he didn’t disappoint. So too Joel Edgerton who co-wrote the movie with David Michôd. Add then there’s Robert Pattinson, blonde and with a french accent, what’s not to like there. All of the acting was superb, including the raspy confidant William (Sean Harris).
The scenery was stunning and I was overcome by the slowness of war back then. How on earth did they tell who was who underneath all that armour? There are some neat quotes that would stand today such as, “one is never ready for what awaits us” and “do you have to fight to gain peace?” If all that hasn’t convinced you … there’s a neat twist.
I should warn that some scenes are quite brutal but what do you expect of war.
In an interesting marketing move THE KING launches on Netflix on November 1 with exclusive screening e.g. at The Backlot in Western Australia. Screening dates at the Backlot are Friday Oct 11, Saturday 12th, Sunday 13th, Wednesday 16th. I’d highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.
