The King

Movie, 2019, R

Premise - King Henry of England, "Hal", was not supposed to take the throne due to his immoral behavior and lack of discipline. That honor was supposed to befall his responsible younger brother, who dies in battle. Now king against his will, Henry is conflicted about how to bring peace to a kingdom that's united, and summons his men to join together in a war against France.

 

Review - Okay, I watched this for Timothee Chalamet, plain and simple. Though Timothee Chalamet was only 90% of the draw, the other 10% was Robert Pattinson. This is not my type of movie in genre, spirit, message, or style. 

 

I persevered through nearly 2 1/2 hours to finish this film, though I may have cheated by drifting in and out of a nap. I could not bring myself to pay attention to a film that was either painfully slow, or painfully violent - and had nothing else to offer. And when I say painfully slow, I do mean painfully. King Henry is just always sleeping, or speaking really, really slowly. I mean, I guess I didn't mind just watching a sleepy Timothee Chalamet wander around in period costumes.

 

As for the violence, I can't stand it. I shut my eyes during some of the most violent moments, so I can't say how much was shown.The war seemed so ridiculously STUPID. Hundreds must have died, if not thousands, for what?? It had nothing to do with politics. The only thing they are fighting for is to support a King with absolute blind devotion. The monarchs of various nations use war between their thousands of men to sort out their own personal problems. The King of France sends King Henry a ball as a gift, and he's like "This is so offensive, time for war!" And all of these men give their own lives to battle on behalf of their King who is an idiot. Of course, what's supposed to make King Henry stand out in this film is that he does not want to sacrifice his men in a war. He'd rather just face his opponent one on one, as that is who it really concerns. It was such an odd juxtaposition to setup this character as someone unfit for the throne because he was "anti-war", trying to bring peace to the Kingdom once he does unexpectedly take the throne, and then all of a sudden to not seem like a coward to his people it's like ALL RIGHT IT'S BATTLE TIME!! Of course, it's a war film, fighting must happen. He declared it. What an idiot. Fragile masculinity right there.

Nobody seems to have regard for any lives, but which I don't just mean lacking empathy for others. They so easily launch into battle knowing they will die themselves. My stomach sunk looking at all the dead horses. They can't understand what war is, and yet they're dying for it. (18/100)

 

Quote - "Many times have I seen men in your state. I’ve been in it many times over myself. For all our rejoice of courage and valor, nothing stains the soul more indelibly than killing. Never have I felt so vile than standing victorious on a battlefield. The thrill of victory fades quickly. What lingers long after is always ugly." - See here, the best part of this film. Why don't they take that to heart??

 

What to watch for - Timothee Chalamet is sexiest in the beginning when he has the longer hair. I can't say I was a fan of this performance, as I had trouble buying the English accent, but he no doubt can capture an audience with a single look on his face. The acting highlight, however, goes to Rob Pattinson with his French accent. In his like two scenes, he had a lot more character than the sulky, sleepy King Henry ever did.

 

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend a more comedic take, Miracle Workers: Dark Ages!

 

Film based loosely on real events?? And also based on Shakespeare's Henriad

Directed by David Michod

Distributed by Netflix