The King (2019 film)

The King is a 2019 epic historical romantic war drama film based on several plays from William Shakespeare's "Henriad".[4][5][6] The film is directed by David Michôd, who produced the film with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Liz Watts and Joel Edgerton according to the film's screenplay which was written by Michod and Edgerton.

The King
Official poster
Directed byDavid Michôd
Produced by
Written by
  • David Michôd
  • Joel Edgerton
Based onHenry IV, Part 1,
Henry IV, Part 2
and Henry V
by William Shakespeare
Starring
Music byNicholas Britell[1]
CinematographyAdam Arkapaw
Edited byPeter Sciberras
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 2 September 2019 (2019-09-02) (Venice)
  • 11 October 2019 (2019-10-11) (United States)
Running time
140 minutes[2]
Country
  • Australia
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$23 000 000
Box office$10,000+[3]

The film includes an ensemble cast led by Timothée Chalamet as Henry, Prince of Wales alongside Robert Pattinson, Rachel O'Shaughnessy,Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Dean-Charles Chapman and Lily-Rose Depp in supporting roles with Mendelsohn as King Henry IV. The film focuses on the rise of Henry V as king after his father dies as he also must navigate palace politics, the war his father left behind, and the emotional strings of his past life.

The King premiered on Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2019 and was released digitally straight to Netflix, which also was one of the film's production companies of the film, on October 11, 2019 in the United States. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and audience, which praised Chalamet's performance as well as the performances of Pattinson, Mendelsohn and the rest of the cast in front of praising the cinematography and acting yet deemed it less than its production values.

The film received leading 12 nominations in the 9th AACTA Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction. However, it won only 4 AACTA Awards.

Plot

Henry, Prince of Wales (called "Hal" by his close friends), is the emotionally distant eldest and wastrel son of King Henry IV of England. Hal is uninterested in his father's war policies and in succeeding him, and spends his days drinking, whoring, and jesting with his companion John Falstaff in Eastcheap. His father summons Hal and informs him that Hal's younger brother, Thomas, will inherit the throne instead of Hal. Thomas is sent to subdue Hotspur's rebellion but is upstaged by the arrival of Hal, who engages Hotspur in single combat. The sword fight descends into an armoured fistfight, and Hal kills Hotspur with a dagger. Although this decides the battle without further conflict, Thomas complains that Hal has stolen all the glory. Shortly thereafter, Thomas is killed in battle after taking his campaign to Wales.

Henry IV dies in his bed with Hal present, and Hal is crowned King Henry V. Hal is determined not to be like his father, and opts for peace and conciliation with his father's adversaries, despite his actions being seen as weakness. At his coronation feast, the Dauphin of France sends Hal a ball, as an insulting and emasculating coronation gift. However, Hal chooses to frame this as a positive reflection of his boyhood before being crowned. His sister Philippa, now the Queen of Denmark, cautions that nobles in any royal court have their own interests in mind and will never fully reveal their true intentions.

Hal interrogates a captured assassin who claims to have been sent by King Charles VI of France to assassinate Hal. The English nobles Cambridge and Grey are approached by French agents hoping to induce them to the French cause. Their trust in the new young king wavers, and they then approach Hal's Chief Justice, William Gascoigne, with their concerns. Gascoigne advises the young king that a show of strength is necessary to unite England, so to prove his competency, Hal declares war on France and has Cambridge and Grey beheaded. He approaches Falstaff and appoints him as his chief military strategist, saying that Falstaff is the only man he truly trusts.

The English army sets sail for France, with Hal at the forefront and Falstaff as his marshal. After completing the Siege of Harfleur, they continue on the campaign but are followed by the Dauphin, who repeatedly tries to provoke Hal. The English advance parties stumble upon a vast French army gathering to face them. Dorset advises Hal to retreat due to the superiority of the French forces, but Falstaff proposes a false advance to lure the French to rush forward into the muddy battlefield, where they will be weighed down by their heavy armour and horses. They will then be attacked by the English longbowmen and surrounded by a large flanking force hidden in the nearby woods.

Hal goes to the Dauphin and offers to fight in single combat to decide the battle, but the Dauphin refuses. The Battle of Agincourt commences, with Falstaff insisting on leading the false advance, since it is his battle plan sending men to their deaths. The plan works - the bulk of the French army charges to engage Falstaff's force, and soon find themselves mired in the mud. Hal leads the flanking attack, and the outnumbered but far more mobile English army overpowers and slaughters the immobilized French, though Falstaff is killed. The Dauphin, still fresh and in heavy armour, attempts to revive the offer of single combat against the weary, lightly armoured Hal, but repeatedly slips and falls in the mud - the battle is over. Hal orders all the French prisoners executed for fear that they might regroup, an order that Falstaff had refused to carry out following the Siege of Harfleur.

Following the decisive victory, the English continue deeper into France. Hal reaches King Charles VI, who offers his surrender and the hand of his daughter Catherine of Valois. Hal returns to England with his new wife for the celebrations. He comes to her room to have a conversation, and she challenges his reasons for invading France. She denies that the French assassin and the insult originated from her father or her brother and dismisses Hal when he falls back on echoing the sentiments of others, sentiments Hal had dismissed earlier in the campaign. Hal realizes that the supposed French insult and acts of aggression against England were staged by Gascoigne to goad Hal into war. Hal confronts Gascoigne, confirms his suspicions, and an unashamed Gascoigne declares that peace comes only through victory. In cold fury, Hal kills Gascoigne and returns to Catherine, asking that she promises to always speak the truth to him.

Cast

Production
Filming on location at Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, UK.

In 2013, it was revealed that Joel Edgerton and David Michôd had collaborated on writing an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V, for Warner Bros. Pictures.[7][8][9] In September 2015, it was announced that Michôd would direct the project, with Warner Bros. producing and distributing the film, and Lava Bear producing.[10]

In February 2018, Timothée Chalamet joined the cast, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner producing, alongside Liz Watts, under their Plan B Entertainment banner. Ultimately, Netflix distributed the film instead of Warner Bros.[11] In March 2018, Edgerton joined the cast of the film.[12] In May 2018, Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Thomasin McKenzie joined the cast; Dean-Charles Chapman joined in June.[13][14]

Principal photography began on 1 June 2018 and wrapped on 24 August.[13][15]

Filming locations

Filming took place throughout England and Szilvásvárad, Hungary.[16][17] Many scenes were filmed on location at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England.[18] Lincoln Cathedral was used in place of Westminster Abbey for the coronation scenes.[19]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 2 September 2019.[20] It screened at the BFI London Film Festival on 3 October 2019,[21][22] and received a limited release on 11 October 2019 before being released on Netflix, for digital streaming, on 1 November 2019.[23]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 71% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 6.56/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "While The King is sometimes less than the sum of its impressive parts, strong source material and gripping performances make this a period drama worth hailing."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25][26]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
AACTA Awards 4 December 2019 Best Film Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Liz Watts, David Michôd, Joel Edgerton Nominated [27]
Best Direction David Michôd Nominated
Best Actor in a Leading Role Timothée Chalamet Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Joel Edgerton Won
Ben Mendelsohn Nominated
Best Cinematography Adam Arkapaw Won
Best Editing Peter Sciberras Nominated
Best Sound Robert Mackenzie, Sam Petty, Gareth John, Leah Katz, Mario Vacarro, Tara Webb Nominated
Best Production Design Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton Won
Best Costume Design Jane Petrie Won
Best Screenplay David Michôd, Joel Edgerton Nominated
Best Hair and Makeup Alessandro Bertolazzi Nominated
Best Casting Des Hamilton, Francine Maisler Nominated
4 January 2020 Best International Film Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Liz Watts, David Michôd, Joel Edgerton Nominated [28]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards 20 November 2019 Best Original Score in a Feature Film Nicholas Britell Nominated [29]
London Film Critics' Circle January 30, 2020 British / Irish Actor of the Year Robert Pattinson Won [30]

Historical Inaccuracy

The movie was criticized for being widely inaccurate to both reality and the Shakespearean play. Being loosely based on several works of English playwright Shakespeare, the film contains many of the same ahistorical dramatizations and biases as its source material, including the introduction of wholly fictional characters and episodes as well as mischaracterizations of historical persons, not the least of which being Henry himself. Portrayed as a perpetually-inebriated, sullen, ne'er-do-well, Henry of Monmouth was in real life so engaged and experienced in battle that he almost died from an arrow to the face, which they subtly reference with the large facial scar he wears in the film. Not unlike the 16th century plays, the film was met with criticism by historians, with Christophe Gilliot, director of the French museum Azincourt 1415, suggesting it has "Francophobe tendencies".[31]

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the most important historical inaccuracy present in the film and not corresponding to reality according to Gilliot:[32]

  • King Henry V was neither humanist nor pacifist. The real Henry V was known to be bellicose, aggressive and warlike. The war against France was not solely the result of a plot against the King, but also a continuity of the foreign policy of his ancestors, claiming the rights of the English crown to the throne of France. Henry wanted to establish his legitimacy. After the battle of Agincourt, he had all the French prisoners executed, most of them gathered in barns and burnt alive, their throats slashed or their heads smashed with blows. He reduced the population of Rouen to starvation during the siege of the city from July 1418 to January 1419, killing 35,000 in six months.
  • William Gascoigne was not killed by Henry V, but was dismissed by him from the start of his reign, reputed to be too close to his father.
  • Henry V never gave up his responsibilities as Prince of Wales, and it was not the death of his brother that pushed him to accept the crown. Furthermore, his brother did not die in Wales, but in France, and eight years after Henry V's coronation.
  • The Dauphin of France, Louis de Guyenne was present neither at the siege of Harfleur nor at the battle of Agincourt. In addition, the cinematographic version of the character, interpreted by Robert Pattinson, is far from reality. Presented as an arrogant, silly and brutal character, the Dauphin, who died two months after the battle of Agincourt, was in fact a pious young man in fragile health.
  • The battle of Agincourt did not take place in such a hilly and green place, as the film shows, but on fallow fields and plowing in the plains. In addition, it was the English who held the heights, and not the French as the film suggests.
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References
  1. "Nicholas Britell Scoring David Michod's 'The King'". FilmMusicReporter. 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  2. "The King". Venice Film Festival. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. Brueggemann, Tom (13 October 2017). "Record-Breaking 'Parasite' Scores the Best Platform Opening Since 'La La Land'". IndieWire. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. Crabtree, Isabel (9 November 2019). "The King Might Not Be Totally Historically Accurate, But Timotheé Chalamet's Bowl Cut Sure As Hell Is". Esquire. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. Bunyan, Michael (25 October 2019). "The True Story Behind the Netflix Movie The King". Time. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. Nelson, Alex (11 November 2019). "Is The King a true story? How accurately Henry V and Agincourt are portrayed in the Netflix drama and Shakespeare plays". inews. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  7. Davies, Luke (June 2013). "Joel Edgerton after Gatsby". The Monthly. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018. With David Michôd he has written King, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts I & II, and Henry V, for Warner Bros.
  8. Wood, Stephanie (26 July 2014). "Australian actor Joel Edgerton hits the Hollywood big time". smh.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  9. Jagernauth, Kevin (3 September 2016). "Joel Edgerton Talks 'Game Of Thrones' Meets Shakespeare Project With David Michôd, 'Jane Got A Gun,' And More". Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  10. McClintock, Pamela (3 September 2015). "Former Universal Chairman David Linde on TIFF Bet, What He Misses About Running a Big Studio". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  11. Fleming Jr, Mike (8 February 2018). "Timothee Chalamet To Play King Henry V In David Michôd Netflix Film 'The King". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  12. Vlessing, Etan (22 March 2018). "Joel Edgerton Joins Timothee Chalamet in Netflix Drama 'The King'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  13. Wiseman, Andreas (31 May 2018). "Robert Pattinson, Lily-Rose Depp, Among Cast Joining Timothée Chalamet In Netflix Pic 'The King', Cameras Roll This Week". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  14. Wiseman, Andreas (1 June 2018). "'Game Of Thrones' Star Dean-Charles Chapman Joins Netflix Pic 'The King'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  15. "Day 58, #thatsawrap !". Instagram.com. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  16. Vierney, Joseph (15 May 2018). "Lincoln casting call for period film". The Lincolnite. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  17. Goundry, Nick (3 May 2018). "Timothée Chalamet to film Henry V movie in Hungary". KFTV. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  18. Horton, Kim (8 June 2018). "Netflix movie produced by Brad Pitt filming in Gloucestershire". gloucestershirelive. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  19. Verney, Joseph (1 November 2019). "The King released on Netflix featuring Lincoln's historic sights". thelincolnite. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  20. Anderson, Ariston (25 July 2019). "Venice Film Festival Unveils Lineup (Updating Live)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  21. Mitchell, Robert (29 August 2019). "'Jojo Rabbit,' 'The Aeronauts,' Netflix Titles Feature in London Film Festival Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  22. "The King". BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  23. McClintock, Pamela (27 August 2019). "Netflix Dates 'Marriage Story,' 'Laundromat' and Other Fall Award Films". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  24. "The King (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  25. "The King (2019) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  26. Hans, Simran (13 October 2019). "The King review – Timothée Chalamet is all at sea as Prince Hal". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  27. "Winners & Nominees". aacta.org.
  28. Vlessing, Etan (3 January 2020). "'Parasite' Named Best Picture by Australia's AACTA Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  29. Harris, LaTesha; Harris, LaTesha (5 November 2019). "'Joker,' 'Lion King,' 'Us' Lead 2019 Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominees". Variety. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  30. "'Parasite' Tops London Film Critics' Circle Awards". Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  31. Samuel, Henry (4 November 2019). "Netflix's 'The King' is anti-French nonsense that flatters a war criminal, says director of Agincourt museum". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  32. https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/hauts-de-france/azincourt-comment-film-roi-netflix-pietine-allegrement-realite-historique-1744495.html

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