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Post by Simone on Nov 8, 2019 8:59:51 GMT -8
Anne Thompson herself really liked The King!
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Post by chalametthegreat on Nov 11, 2019 1:00:07 GMT -8
SPOILERS - MY REVIEW OF "THE KING".
"All men are born to die."
One would think the above quote comes from an episode of "Game of Thrones" when one character says, "All men must die." But no, the statement comes from my favorite moment of "The King" when young King Henry V gives a chilling and extraordinary speech that motivates the heart of all Englishmen to bloody battle. I was ready to fight and die for Henry V in that one moment. People sometimes forget how modern fantasy stories like "Game of Thrones" borrow a lot of material from medieval history. "The King" transports us back in time to horrors of warfare in the 15th century and reminds us to learn from the past so as not to repeat the mistakes as well as honor those who shaped the West for good and for ill like King Henry V.
Still, my favorite character of the movie was not Henry V but Sir John Falstaff played by the engaging Joel Edgerton. It is Falstaff who draws you into the story and is relatable to audiences. It is Falstaff who can tell the king the truth and things he does not want to hear. It is Falstaff who tempers his king from his worst impulses. And when Falstaff his friend is dead at the Battle of Agincourt Henry V turns cruel by 21st century standards and executes all the French prisoners. Of course, such an action was expected for a medieval king at war.
And it is Timothee Chalamet who has to anchor this narrative and does he do it and do it well?! Now I would not be much of a stan of his if I said no he failed miserably. But thankfully and as you might assume from above, I thought Timothees acting was stupendous throughout the story. His gift which is rare among even the best actors is to convey so much in his performance through his eyes and maybe a movement of the lips or face without so much as saying a single word. You want to know so much more about Henry V and what he is actually thinking, but the makers of the movie deliberately make Henry V often emotionless and sphinx like. A solid performance by Timothee!
All that being said, I think this more realistic version of Henry V could have been quite better told and fleshed out in a four hour or longer dramatic miniseries rather than a 2.5 hour film which feels very rushed and incomplete to me. For example, the first 30 minutes to hour of the movie contained a lot of great elements. A dying warmongering father who dislikes his eldest son. In turn, a rebellious son who is by heart peaceful and hateful of civil war. An elder friend who is a mentor and guardian angel. Unfortunately, I thought the story in the beginning disserviced all the actors who did what they could with the material. Motivations and characterization needed fleshing out. I want to know and see how someone like Falstaff becomes a friend of Henry V. I want to know and see how such a young man becomes embittered towards his father. I want to know and see why Henry V values peace before he becomes king.
Conversely, from the moment Henry V delivers his version of the St. Crispins Day speech to the troops I was on the edge of my seat until the end. Timothees second best acting moment was the second to final scene at the end when Henry V confronts William Gascoigne played by the great Sean Harris whose character orchestrated the whole war with the French. When the betrayal is revealed the intensity is bursting at the seams until Henry Vs quick dispatch of the traitor.
Obviously as an avid history buff and reader of the British monarchy ancient and modern, there is a lot of story in "The King" that is historically buttocks. In fact so were Shakespeares plays that inspired the movie. What I care about when I watch films like this one is whether they accurately capture the essence of the time period and the true character of the historical figures being portrayed even when scenes or actions are fabricated. I would say "The King" succeeds on that level with the costumes, scenery, and battles. I admired how "The King" portrays medieval warfare as gruesome and quite a bloody mess. The infamous Battle of Agincourt was quite well done and portrayed in all its glory and ugliness.
And as for Henry V, I think the latter half of the film captures the true essence of the man whereas the first half basically ignores history too much for my liking. Again I come back to what I didn't like in "The King" was how the story was told in certain parts. In reality, Henry V was the one who wanted warfare over his fathers objections. I do like how the creators of the movie try to show us what it meant at the time for a young man to assume absolute power. A very good thread there that needed more time to tell and build. Also, I think the first half of the narrative would have been more interesting and stronger if Henry V had been shown as more aggressive than his father with respect to warfare like history tells us but tempered by his friend Falstaff until his death as seen in the movie.
That being said, the best leaders are those who resist power for powers sake. Which is why the legend of a young wayward Prince Hal before he becomes king continues to fascinate hundreds of years later. Timothee was a good fit for this role. I just wish the story had given him much more to do and say in certain key parts.
What we do know from this movie now more than ever is that Timothee is going to be friggin AMAZING as Paul Atreides in "Dune" next year. And his true fans will know that he harnessed his royal and battle skills in "The King."
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Post by Simone on Nov 11, 2019 7:16:24 GMT -8
Wow, that's a nice review!
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Post by chalametthegreat on Nov 11, 2019 15:44:43 GMT -8
Thanks, Simone. It was fun writing something for pleasure last night rather than work. It helps to also have a great Timothee muse! Little Women next over the holidays!
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Post by Simone on Nov 12, 2019 11:36:42 GMT -8
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Post by Simone on Nov 13, 2019 10:16:32 GMT -8
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Post by chalametthegreat on Nov 13, 2019 20:11:55 GMT -8
youtu.be/l9hFxE2GlmUThe attached link takes you to a great video which explains the real history behind the movie while using scenes from the movie. Love it!
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Post by Simone on Nov 25, 2019 12:22:26 GMT -8
Netflix is moving forward in focusing on four other films for awards consideration, no more support for The King.
Moving on, let's see what happens at the Aussie Oscars.
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Post by Simone on Nov 27, 2019 10:49:27 GMT -8
Netflix has two FYC ads for The King, totally being drowned out by their attention to the other three films. But, at least we have these two FYC ads. Source: Mavericks Movies
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Post by Simone on Dec 1, 2019 22:28:54 GMT -8
It looks like the Australian Oscars have the awards in two parts, with the first part, the crafts occurring as I type this. With Syndey being about 17 hours ahead of me here in California, here are the winning categories for The King thus far! All these wins bode well for Timmy.
Yeah Joel!!!
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Post by Teenca on Dec 2, 2019 0:12:56 GMT -8
Winner of Best Costume, Production Design, Cinematography, Supporting Actor:
Congrats!!!
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Post by Teenca on Dec 2, 2019 0:31:30 GMT -8
10 hours ahead of me, I am watching on Wednesday Dec 4. Hoping I'll have a less horrible way to work than today.
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Post by Simone on Dec 2, 2019 6:51:30 GMT -8
10 hours ahead of me, I am watching on Wednesday Dec 4. Hoping I'll have a less horrible way to work than today. This is where they'll give out the BIG awards including Actor, Picture, and Director. These 4 awards from the industry pre-awards show bode well for The King on Wednesday.
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Post by Teenca on Dec 4, 2019 1:49:53 GMT -8
No other awards fot The King at AACTA:
Actually the previous and all in all 4 awards are a good achievement. Congrats!
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Post by Simone on Dec 4, 2019 6:57:38 GMT -8
The AACTA are lame provincial awards where Aussies are awarded always, and non-Aussies are nominated as fillers. The same actor who won Best Actor last year, fucking won this year. THAT's how redundant and irrelevant these awards are.
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