Dazed Beauty : "The King"

Unlike last year's, with some reservations, the historical film Outlaw King about the King of Scots Robert I the Bruce, the new high-budget costumed epic Netflix The King is a screen version of the historical chronicles of William Shakespeare, "Henry IV, Part 1", "Henry IV, Part 2" and "Henry V ". The protagonist of this story is the highly idealized English playwright, King Henry V, played by the young actor Timothy Chalamet.

Henry V is one of the most sought-after Shakespearean chronicles. The play has been staged in theaters around the world and has been filmed many times. In the first film adaptation of 1944 , released immediately after the landing in Normandy and saturated with military propaganda, the role of the king was played by the great Laurence Olivier, who also acted as the director of the film. In the 1989 film, this role was played by the still young Kenneth Branagh, who received two Oscar nominations for this picture at once - as an actor and as a director. The 2012 series The Hollow Crown, which includes all of Shakespeare's history, stars Tom "Loki" Hiddleston as Henry V.

Well, now the young American-French actor Timothy Chalamet, who was noticed by critics after the film Call Me by Your Name , has joined this award-winning company . For his role in this film, Chalamet received nominations for the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar, becoming the youngest contender for the highest film award since 1939. However, from our point of view, the choice of Timothy Chalamet for the main role in The King is one of the main mistakes filmmakers.

No, the young performer has not lost his talent at all, in some scenes, in the same very emotional speech before the Battle of Agincourt, he looks very bright and convincing, moreover, the bilingualism of the actor in the case of the adaptation of Shakespeare's chronicles is very appropriate. The problem is that Timothy Chalamet looks sleepy, lethargic and indecisive for the other two and a half hours, not at all the ideal king Shakespeare described. In addition, when the frankly skinny Chalamet puts on full armor and enters the battlefield against knights several times his size, it looks just ridiculous.

The King is not a historical record, so don't look for veracity in it. But the problem is that this is not a literal adaptation of Shakespeare's plays. From the original "Henry V", well, pieces of "Henry IV, part 1" and "Henry IV, part 2" at the very beginning, only the general outline remained here. The magical transformation of a drunken prince and a lazy guy into a sun king, caring for the good of his subjects and the state. A king who wants peace so much that he is forced to start a bloody massacre and commit a series of actions that would today be interpreted as war crimes. Otherwise, this is not really Shakespeare, but rather an interpretation of Shakespeare by actor Joel Edgerton ( Red Sparrow , Zero Dark Thirty, Black Mass).

It was Edgerton who became the screenwriter of the film and played one of the main roles in it, the role of Falstaff, a cowardly and boastful drunkard, a friend of Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. But the fact is that in the original "Henry V" Falstaff is no longer there, this is a character "Henry IV, part 1" and "Henry IV, part 2", in which he is exhibited as a comic hero, drinking companion and interlocutor of the prince, braggart and coward. In the film The King, Falstaff is more of a tragic character, the only one whom Henry trusts, whose wise advice and self-sacrifice allow the king to defeat the French at Agincourt.

However, the differences with Shakespeare's text are here not only in this. In general, the whole The King is a little bit different. This film is about how an inexperienced and straightforward monarch can become a toy in the hands of his subjects and ... about the loneliness of a king. And also, suddenly, about the importance of the family.

Australian director David Michaud, who directed The King, is not the first time he has partnered with Netflix. His previous film, the anti-war satire War Machine with Brad Pitt, was also released on this streaming service. This time Michaud was entrusted with a larger budget, and he spent it on a grand scale.

The King is filmed really well. There are gorgeous costumes and decorations, and the battle scenes are staged no worse than in the same Outlaw King. First of all, we are talking about a skirmish in the mud during the Battle of Agincourt filmed in one camera. However, real siege engines and a military camp during the siege of Harfleur also look very impressive. Incidentally, the king's landing in France seems to be deliberately copying the landing in Normandy in 1944.

In addition, David Michaud put together a very strong acting ensemble in his film. In addition to the already mentioned Timothy Chalamet and Joel Edgerton, such good actors as Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Twilight), Ben Mendelssohn (TV series Bloodline, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ) and Sean Harris (miniseries Southcliffe, Macbeth). Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, starred in the role of Catherine Valois.

Despite good actors and an impressive budget, The King leaves a very ambivalent impression. He will scare away fans of historical films with a huge number of liberties and inaccuracies made by Shakespeare. Connoisseurs of the work of the English playwright will be offended by such a free treatment of the text of original works. David Michaud was so eager to make a Shakespearean film, unlike other Shakespearean films, that he seems to be confused himself. However, The King is a really beautiful movie, if you have a Netflix subscription and love costume pictures, at least bookmark it.