The King

The solitude, burden and uncompromising nature of being a ruler. On top of that, the father-son relationships on both sides of the channel torn apart. Undoubtedly, you will recognize Shakespeare's themes, dialogue, characters and speeches in many places. However, this is not a direct adaptation of his Henriad, though the movie was inspired by it. You won’t fail to notice it and that is intentional. In any case, The King is a fine historical film impressively shot in the mud and with excellent acting (especially the Edgerton-Harris-Chalamet trio). The more intimate, the better. And it is more than intimate. (11/02/2019)

It takes a while for the viewer to get over the fact that here the otherwise fragile, etheric Timothée playing a proficient drinker and invincible warrior... I also had trouble believing him being a womanizer....  So if you manage to get over that, you will enjoy a black and grey medieval period full of dirt, mud and cruel massacres. It's not bad, just depressing. (03/23/2023)

Or how King Henry gained both victory and an honest French lady. A clever and authentic historical movie that gets under your skin. The detailed depiction of the characters and the authenticity of their behavior are crucial for Michôda. There is one major action scene in the form of a muddy scuffle at Agincourt, while the rest of the film is made up of discussions about war with a chubby Edgerton, a bit of sieging and royal intrigues, where Chalamet very adeptly prepares himself for the role of Muad'Dib in Villeneuve’s Dune. Pattinson is a loathsome bastard (the great scene with the little boys in the forest) and absolutely revels in this role. The King looks like a movie from a different time, old-school but with modern techniques and gadgets. It’s nice to hear a mention of the Czech Lands too. Powerful music. (11/04/2019)

It seems that Netflix decided to try its hand at European historical epics. During the last two years, it produced the best two films of this genre in quite some time – Outlaw King and The King. These films have similar titles, topics and quality, but the latter seemed more professional to me. Maybe it’s because of the Shakespeare references, great dialogues and actors, intimacy of its story or perhaps the action scenes, with an epic finale and postscript that made me melt in pure bliss. For an intimate historical film full of politics there are quite a lot action scenes and witty lines, which is definitely good. It reminds me of the 1980s and 90s, the era of classic historical epics. By the way, did you also do a double-take over the fact that Timothée Chalamet, an actor with obvious French roots, plays the English king and the indisputable Englishman Robert Pattison plays a bitchy Frenchman? Their performances were very entertaining. (12/18/2019)

A masterfully crafted intimate drama about the difficult beginnings of Henry V's reign on the English throne, focusing primarily on revealing various intrigues and the notion that being a king was hardly something to be genuinely grateful for. Timothée Chalamet is beginning to fully showcase his talent, and in various verbal sparring scenes, he demonstrated that he need not fear for his future in Hollywood, as he possesses great skill. In addition to the excellent performances, I was impressed by the cinematography, which, apart from one battle scene, is not very dynamic—a choice that suited me perfectly. The long takes of landscapes and the play with light and shadow convinced me that the creators truly know how to captivate the audience. The final gritty battle only confirmed my positive opinion of the film. I’m not saying it will be a blockbuster that will be discussed in film circles 20 years from now, but as an above-average film with a fresh storyline, it works flawlessly. I give it 79%. P.S. Watch the film just for Robert Pattinson. Although he appears on screen for only about five minutes, in that brief time he convinced me that I’m far less concerned about his portrayal of Batman. (11/10/2019)