By Robert Bouffard
It’s refreshing when a Shakespeare adaptation does something new and different from the dozens of pre-existing film adaptations of his work. David Michôd’s The King takes the story of Henry V and brings an original take on the material, offering themes of responsibility and right vs. wrong.
The titular king is Henry V of England (Timothée Chalamet) – a young drunk who is thrust into the responsibility after the deaths of his father and brother. Young Henry must quickly learn the importance of being a strong leader, because he discovers an assassination plot against him by the French, who do not think that he is a capable leader. Reluctantly, Henry goes to war against France.
Here is paradoxically where the movie succeeds and fails. It’s noble and compelling to know that Henry doesn’t want to go to war with France – he feels that the conflict is his father’s and he has no need to enter into it, which may be very true. But we never understand why he wants to be different from his father. It is one thing to understand that a character wants to do something, but it is a whole other important thing to understand why they want to do that thing. This missing motivation really holds the movie back overall.
The other aspect that will threaten to stymie the film is its dripping water torture pace. It is attempting to slowly build tension leading up to the final showdown between the English and French, but instead, lots of the scenes turn out to be men sitting in a tent talking intensely, but with no actual film tension built.
Even though the tension is poorly paced and built, the slow burn does eventually lead to one of the best action sequences put to screen this year. In a one take that shows the horror of battle to rival Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards, the camera follows Henry as he fights hordes of enemy soldiers all around him. It is a scene that is difficult to look away from because of how masterfully shot it is. This one take fits in well with the visual language of the rest of the film, as well. It has a moody aura from beginning to end which is able to bring you into this medieval world of the past.
The world of the past is one from which we can learn two important lessons.
First, the result of the war with the French is unification, which was ultimately brought about by shady dealings. But it is unification all the same. In such a divided world, Michôd is trying to drive home the importance of being unified with one another, no matter the cost.
Second, it is also a warning to be careful who you trust. When it comes to urgent times full of people trying to gain political edge, everyone has their own agenda. People who seem trustworthy may not actually be so, and it is important to recognize this idea.
All the while, any effectiveness this movie has comes directly from Timothée Chalamet. Chalamet first captured our hearts and attention in 2017 when he was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Elio in Call Me by Your Name, and appeared in the Best Picture-nominated Lady Bird. Then last year, he was snubbed at the Oscars after giving a raw and beautiful performance in Beautiful Boy. Fortunately, Michôd recognized Chalamet’s brilliance and cast him in The King. Because while this is a far from perfect movie, it shows yet again that Chalamet is a talented and versatile actor who will be around for a long time.