The King
by James Marsh
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Derek Alvarado (II), E. Matthew Buckley, Gael Garc?a Bernal, Monica Pe?a, Veronica BernalDirector: James Marsh
Brand: THINKFILM LLC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Velocity / Thinkfilm
Movie Reviews of The King
Movie Review: The King....of Pseudo-Art
Summary: 1 Stars
As a latecomer to this film I just happened upon it in the Used DVD section of a local music store the other day, and I eagerly purchased it while being curious how this Pastor's family tale would unwrap itself, no pun intended.
To say that I was and still am disturbed by the story is to write the obvious, not to mention a bit cliche judging by some reviews I've read for this film. The long lost son is looking for his father who rejects him right off the bat, which makes for some interesting and deeply sad foundation to the story....something which I was very moved by being that I am a product of the Christian Church and even a seminary graduate....how I was trying to rewrite the story on-the-spot that Elvis was hugged and embraced by the pastor and courageously welcomed into the congregation! ( That is the true love of God, the forgiveness and grace of Christ that I wanted to see shown through this pastor, yet I was also intrigued by the VERY REAL possibility and humanity of the pastor being ashamed and protective AND hypocritical....so I was not in the least bit turned off by this film portraying that ). So, even before that meeting between said Elvis and Pastor the former "son" had already taken a liking to the pastor's daughter,Mallory...AND he moves in for the kill, pun intended, when he later defends his right to be with her (after manipulating her and crossing her boundaries, romantically and sexually) by killing off Mallory's brother who has come to protect her ( protecting her innocence and/or maybe he thinks this Elvis guy is "shady" unlike the filmmakers' commentary that the pastor's family just had fear towards the Elvis guy so they wanted to eliminate him----which is an obvious blanket prejudice of the filmmakers which I do not support---if someone were following my car home from church to give my husband/father a "hug" and I didn't know who that person was you better believe that I'd wonder if this person was very hurt/needy or perhaps unstable or perhaps even dangerous...that's not a bad thing, but being wise and discerning, aka Street-Smarts!!) Anyway, I digress.
I don't know what is more disturbing about this film: the fact that the filmmakers stated that some people saw Elvis as "not bad" OR the "fairy tale" music that permeated some creepy scenes of Elvis fairly graphically "making love" to Mallory (he is 21 and she's 16, so it's statutory rape, yes?!) OR that this sweet music (kind of Motherspaugh-esqe a la "Bottle Rocket") is continuing through scenes where the pastor is unknowingly taking Elvis under his arm (with the kind of love he SHOULD have shown at the outset) while his missing son, who Elvis has killed, is still manipulated from the pastor's understanding by Elvis' cruel, lying ways OR how he clued Mallory in to how her brother died by lying to her ("he threatened me"...oh, poor baby) OR how Elvis abused Mallory's trust by praying with her for God's forgiveness AND lying to God in his prayer??!! I mean, Elvis was one sick mutha...so was that music chosen as a kind of pseudo-artistic means towards irony....I am wondering if the filmmakers are a little sick in the head...if irony was the slant, then they did a very poor job of showing contrast in that regard...that did NOT work at all. And in their commentary at the end they stated, in a surprised tone, that people thought Elvis looked mad AS IF HE WAS GONNA DO SOMETHING BAD to the pastor AFTER HE HAD KILLED OFF MALLORY AND HER MOTHER!!? Give me a gigantic break!? Elvis was on is way to becoming a serial killer, wasn't he? Are we supposed to be so sympathetic towards him AFTER he played God (not really what God would do) by murdering now 3 people and burning down the house then going to the pastor's office to "get right"?? He ultimately showed his true colors...that he cared more about himself than Mallory or her brother or her mother or his father/pastor OR the honor of HIS mother...he truly disrespected her ( but God the most) in committing these grave acts!
Seldom do I not recommend films, but this is one of those times. While I found the acting to be solid, the storyline and disturbing commentary and directing decisions (to show the bare breast of a "16 year-old" while Elvis was grinding away) led me towards a rejection of the film. Believe me, I am no prude, but to passively portray the sick behavior in the film as just a part of "everyone has something wrong with them", something to that effect that the filmmakers stated, as if there is a moral/immoral equivalence throughout all the characters, is just plain rubbish and cowardly, in my humble opinion.
Why not have the courage to draw out the drama of Elvis' horrible/terrible acts against more sinister or troubling music? Why not draw out the contrast of Elvis' criminal behavior against the devastating realization that the pastor was a part of Elvis' deep pain and loss of his father in his life? ( Who wouldn't want to see William Hurt act out the complexity of mourning the loss of his family, feeling the rage towards Elvis, and grieving his previous "sin" of seeing a prostitute and having a son he didn't know about for 21 years?? ) No, it seems like the filmmakers put the resulting burden subtly back on the pastor, like it's really his fault----as if they were indirectly telling us, "Well, ya know, he was never there for Elvis, then rejected him, so really what Elvis did was basically, pretty much that Christian pastor's fault." Whoops, maybe I just opened a can of worms....was this film in the end a knock against "religious" folks and/or Christians? Maybe. If so, do the filmmakers have the courage to admit that? I think not.
So, in the spirit of the film, I "courageously" recommend this film.....NOT!!!
Summary of The King
Corpus Christie TX is the setting for this affecting drama of an estranged father and son. Gael Garcia Bernal is Elvis a young Mexican-American on leave from the Navy who seeks out his birth father (William Hurt) a fundamentalist preacher. When Elvis falls in love with his 16-year-old half-sister trouble brews.DVD Features:Available Subtitles: SpanishAvailable Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)Behind the ScenesFilmmaker CommentaryActor RehearsalsTrailerTrailer GalleryFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating:?R UPC:?821575547154 Manufacturer No:?TF-54715Drama DVD Video
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