The Heartthrob Turned King
Netflix's new film, The King, based on William Shakespeare’s Henriad plays, tells the tale of a wayward prince who unwillingly takes his kingdom to war immediately after becoming king. Timothée Chalamet plays young prince Hal, who has cut off ties with his royal lineage and lives with an equally messy knight John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). His inept and gravely ill father, King Henry IV of Wales, played by Ben Mendelsohn, whose policies seem to be the reason for the Prince’s behaviour, declares that Hal will never be king and the latter shows no interest in the crown. However, he is dragged into the line of duty when his father wages a battle with an ally, and his brother and would-be king loses his life in the process.
Hal, who is now King Henry V, tries his best to not be what his father was, but he is forced to lead his kingdom to war with France.
From very early on, the screenplay by Michôd and Edgerton, tries to portray Hal or Henry V as an able ruler, even though he has lost his way for a while. Hence it doesn’t come as a surprise when the same person who “wholly ignores" urgent messages from the palace becomes a brooding and intelligent leader who will most definitely not repeat his father’s steps.
One of the best written characters is Joel Edgerton’s Falstaff. This character too, switches from being drunk and broke to being a mighty knight who is the king’s best advisor. Even when he is drunk he has the most profound lines. Edgerton pulls off the character arc quite well.
Robert Pattinson however, upstages Chalamet in his fifteen minutes of screen-time. Playing the evil and sadistic Prince of France who doesn't flinch before beheading. His English accent is awful, and he will only speak in it, which actually makes it a genius move in creating a annoyance against the character from the very beginning.
Comments