The King
Directed by David Michôd
Produced by David Michôd, Joel Edgerton, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt, Liz Watts
Written by David Michôd, Joel Edgerton
Based on Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V by William Shakespeare
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn
Like most historical dramas, The King is mostly drama, and not so much history. Based on the plays of William Shakespeare just means it is an extra step removed from historical reality, or at least historical agreed-upon lies.
Yes, there really was an England, and a France, and a Henry V and a Charles the VI. There was a battle of Agincourt (and I think the battle in the movie was filmed at Agincourt). The broad outlines are there.
Most of the main characters actually existed in history, with the notable exception of the second lead role in the movie, Sir John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). How much they resembled their historical counterparts is, well, of some conjecture. Take the Dauphin. His main porpoise in the film is to sound like a Frenchman out of Monty Python. “I wave my private parts at your aunties, you cheesy lot of second hand electric donkey-bottom biters.” He does make an interesting counterpoint to the whoremongering drunken libertine that Henry V was before the heir apparent rode off to final glory in Wales and daddy popped off. Unlike Henry the IV, who was a right sod, the Dauphin’s father, Charles the Sixth (and played beautifully and with a demented dignity by Thibault de Montalembert) gives the victorious Henry V wise counsel in defeat.
I was half expecting Shakespeare’s “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” speech, although upon reflection, it would have been jarring in the middle of dialog that was modern English delivered in a “well, it sounds kinda mediaeval” accent.
Thousands of costume dramas out there, but this one stands out. Not just for the acting, which ranges from very good to sublime, but for the dialog, the pacing, and a battle scene that can rival Game of Thrones’ “Battle of the Bastards.”
Netflix has swung, and for the most part missed, at historical dramas, but this time they connected solidly, and produced a film well worth watching.