Thursday, November 14, 2019
Saturday, November 09, 2019
The King, Netflix - 2019
The King 2019
A Good piece of history, and cinematically told well, with much drama unfolding, a layer at a time around a seemingly indifferent young man, who undergoes a transformation from drunken high-life and wonton affections to disciplined leader of a monarchy.
While undoubtedly historically correct and vigilantly researched, the character himself, played by Timothy Chalamet, seems always in a fixed state of grievance that he never quite gets away from. There is only one moment in the film when Timothy displays a different look on his face other than grim, during an original moment of drunknness, staring into the camera with dull bliss and a huge smile.
I liked the history, but really didn't connect with the character. His "transformation" never quite takes shape. Whether that is the fault of the actors' range, or the director's inability to draw that from him it's not clear, as Timothy seems an actor capable of emotional range, yes. It's just not in this film. Direction and camera work could have helped his war speech near the end, where he's called upon as many leaders in the past to rouse the troops to fight with words of valor and nobility and a cause. While loudly proclaimed, that speech still left something to be delivered.
His acting opposite, the French Dauphin played by Robert Pattinson, had more range in his short performances than Chalamet. He was simultaneously able to portray both a frowardness and kind of awkward arrogance along side a creeping fear underneath the confident exterior. His pitiful end was truly sad, despite what was supposedly a triumphal moment. That of course was purposeful, he too being seen as only a pawn of the entire constituency.
But the entire story as told in this historical remake was not about either of them really. While titled, "The King", it really could just as easily have been titled, "He Who Whispers in my Ear". The story was really about the revelation of what drives a monarchy under it's skin, just below the surface, the blood of it really being greed and deceit by those whose desires are not noble at all, but land-grabbing and power-hungry, the chief piece here being William, the young King's advisor and "friend". No spoilers here, but seeing through this kind of misdirection is the stuff king's are supposed to be made of.
Joel Edgerton plays a fantastic performance as John, a true friend of the King, whose end in contrast is not lost on us, punctuating the distance that wealth and power puts between the players. William spends the entire trip to France in a carried and covered wagon, while John horse-backs the trip like everyone else. During the battle, the loss of his helmet to all-in fighting contrasts sharply with William, hiding up in the trees behind the archers, watching the pigs below wallow in the muddy-bloody mire, deciding for him how much land he would acquire.
His acting opposite, the French Dauphin played by Robert Pattinson, had more range in his short performances than Chalamet. He was simultaneously able to portray both a frowardness and kind of awkward arrogance along side a creeping fear underneath the confident exterior. His pitiful end was truly sad, despite what was supposedly a triumphal moment. That of course was purposeful, he too being seen as only a pawn of the entire constituency.
But the entire story as told in this historical remake was not about either of them really. While titled, "The King", it really could just as easily have been titled, "He Who Whispers in my Ear". The story was really about the revelation of what drives a monarchy under it's skin, just below the surface, the blood of it really being greed and deceit by those whose desires are not noble at all, but land-grabbing and power-hungry, the chief piece here being William, the young King's advisor and "friend". No spoilers here, but seeing through this kind of misdirection is the stuff king's are supposed to be made of.
Joel Edgerton plays a fantastic performance as John, a true friend of the King, whose end in contrast is not lost on us, punctuating the distance that wealth and power puts between the players. William spends the entire trip to France in a carried and covered wagon, while John horse-backs the trip like everyone else. During the battle, the loss of his helmet to all-in fighting contrasts sharply with William, hiding up in the trees behind the archers, watching the pigs below wallow in the muddy-bloody mire, deciding for him how much land he would acquire.
- Agitatus
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