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| Copyright Netflix |
As a historical tale, this movie is a very enjoyable one although they are still using classical language with Shakespearean dialect. As someone whose first language is not English, I can understand most of what the characters say and even pick up some French too (although I did not understand any of it, I can hear them clearly). I assume it is safe to say that The King is a contemporary spin on the poetic, classical play.
This movie focuses on the evolution of young Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet), the firstborn with the reputation of his drinking and partying habits, mostly avoiding his responsibilities, to become a great King after his father died of illness, King Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn).
Timothée's portrayal of debauched young Prince to fearless warrior King is truly iconic! The openness of his character's emotion is fascinating to watch. The ability to make a connection with the audience with his eye gaze when he is looking or thinking, or even when he's doing nothing, is just pure talent.
Storywise, although this movie has a relatively complicated plot but it is still enjoyable and interesting. Some scenes are too great for their own good. One of my favourites is the battle. It starts with Prince Hal's speech and dear Lord, the speech is so beautiful it hurts. Knowing that in this battle - in every battle, there will be blood and death, the young Prince is very encouraging and honest to his people. He did not ask them to battle for him but for the country. This is also the best of Timothée in this movie.
The King is also pretty funny for a historical drama. The funniest scene is when the Dauphin (Robert Pattinson) shows up and out of nowhere mocking Prince Hal's genital (I'm trying to make this blog PG-13, okay). With his strange but funny French accent, Robert is just perfect for this role. For God's sake, he's about to play Batman and in this movie, he's a total idiot! I'm so glad I'm alive in this era, truly.
However, in 140 minutes runtime, I feel like this movie still need more important and interesting content rather than what it has. Some scenes can be difficult to watch, some are just unnecessary, but overall it is a nice, enjoyable historical drama.
Love, Vera
