The King: Cinematic mashup of Shakespeare's 'Henrys' makes for thoughtful - albeit long - drama about why we make war
By Karen Gordon
Rating: B-minus
With The King, co-writers director David Michôd and actor Joel Edgerton have updated Shakespeare to give us a character study of a leader-in-the-making who hopes to pivot his country away from war.
They’ve have taken three plays in Shakespeare’s “Henriad”: Henry IV Part One, Henry IV Part Two and Henry V, sprinkled in some history (and some speculation to give it a modern resonance), and condensed it into a single story built around Henry V.
Timothee Chalamet is a young King Henry V in this smooth mash-up of Shakespeare’s Henriad.
The result is mixed, but interesting.
Timothée Chalamet plays Henry V, or Hal, who, as we meet him, is estranged from his father the controversial King Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn). The King’s wars have strained England in many ways, and even his best soldiers are weary and fed up. Hal has rebelled from his warmongering father by going AWOL and hanging out with former soldiers, including Sir John Falstaff (Edgerton).
From what we see, Hal spent his days sleeping and his nights drinking and partying, as best as you can in the 14th century.
He’s summoned to the castle to meet his dying father who tells him that he won’t get the crown. Instead it will pass to his younger brother Thomas (Dean-Charles Chapman), who is eager to please their father, but is a much less experienced soldier.
This prompts Hal back into action. He shows up on the battlefield, attempting to persuade his younger brother that he needn’t carry on his father’s wars, even putting himself in a life and death situation, to no avail. Thomas makes war and dies off camera. Hal, believing he can do better for England, accepts the throne on the death of his father, and gains his Roman numeral.
Now ensconced in the castle, he is surrounded by his father’s advisors, including the seasoned and sober William Gascoigne, (Sean Harris). At first Hal impresses them all with his independence of thought, his down-to-earth wisdom, unwillingness to be rattled or be prodded into confrontation, and his desire to stop the endless wars and restore England to health.
But when a Frenchman shows up claiming he’s an assassin sent from the King Charles of France to kill Henry, the young king is persuaded that his only option is to lay siege upon France and bring the country into the English fold. Not only would it stop what seems like an ongoing series of threats, but the victory would unite an England fractured by his father’s on going wars.
Reluctantly persuaded, he recruits his old pal Falstaff, believing him to be his most loyal and truthful friend, and off they and the army go. The Battle of Agincourt awaits.
Michod and Edgerton have, with their script, accomplished a lot. Although they’re inspired by Shakespeare and to a certain extent the structure of Henry V, the language is entirely their own.
The film, of course, focuses on young Hal as he assumes power and tries to rule out of a less warlike, more reasoned and reasonable philosophy. He’s a young man wise beyond his years, a natural leader who has a vision for his country and who thinks deeply, or tries to, before undertaking any decisions.
Chalamet plays him as brooding and reflective, perhaps taking his cue from a line in one of Shakespeare’s Henry IVs: 'Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”. Chalamet’s Hal is careful, but not infallible, which means there are decisions taken that he may come to regret.
Chalamet is a superb, thoughtful actor who seems to completely inhabit the characters he plays. He brings a warrior’s bearing and the necessary gravitas to the role. The depth of his world weariness is one of the best aspects of The King.
The film’s big surprise is Robert Pattinson as the son of the French King, the Dauphin, who delights in taunting Hal. Pattinson plays him broadly, slightly campy, with a rich French accent that he pulls off nicely. He’s only in the film for a few scenes, and provides real spark and energy exactly when the film needs it.
Lily-Rose Depp acquits herself nicely playing Catherine de Valois the daughter of the French king. Shakespeare mostly used her in scenes providing some lightness in Henry V. But here, she is a fuller person, a dutiful daughter, an independent thinker who provides Hal with some perspective.
Harris and Edgerton, are superb as well. Shakespeare killed off Sir John Falstaff before Henry V, but this new script revives him to great effect. Falstaff, has in some ways given Hal, a different view of how a man can live. While Henry IV can’t stop making war, or so it seems, Falstaff echoes Hal’s sense that this constant cycle of war and death is pointless.
But there are problems. The movie is 133 minutes, which is not overly long, given what’s covered here, but at times the movie flags. Once the story moves to France, the film seems to be doing its best to give us a sense of the sheer dullness of battle, but the effect is to slow the film down to a crawl.
What redeems The King, beyond the excellent performances, is the way the film gets around to asking questions about making war. Why go to war and who benefits is part of the story here, which leaves it in an interesting place.
The King. Directed by David Michod. Co-written by David Michod and Joel Edgerton. Starring Timothee Chalamet, Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris. Opens Wednesday, October 16 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.