The King
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Movie Reviews of The King
Movie Review: Disturbing drama
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent and disturbing drama about a young man "Elvis" seeking his biological father. Turns out he is the son of a prostitute and current pastor who has repented for his younger days of sin. The father dismisses the young man out of shame for his sin. The young man decides to get even by seducing the pastor's teenage daughter - his half-sister. The violence escalates and it was hard to determine whether "Elvis" had a master plan of destruction for his father's new family or simply tragic circumstances that spiralled out of control. Well-crafted and extremely strong cast which left more questions than answers at the finale. Movie Review: Dark and Immersive Drama
Summary: 4 Stars
The King surprised me. I must confess that early on I thought the story would be about the hypocrisy of a preacher who tried to leave behind a sordid past. But The King is a film that breaks convention at nearly every turn. The characters don't fit the simple archetypes we've come to expect in typical drama fare. Understanding the characters is truly an effort in complexity. The motives and feelings of the characters aren't cut and dried. They are multi-faceted and enigmatic, which in truth is how most real life people are as well.
The film is careful not to view the characters with a judgemental eye. Rather, we must utilize the information we're given to draw our own conclusions about each character. While this may sound like a guessing game of uncertainty, the intentional ambiguity does not detract from the story. Rather it causes the viewer to become more deeply involved in studying the characters' motivations for what they do and don't do.
Know this. The King is a dark film. Not cinematographically per se, but dark as in the soul of the characters. the King reaches way down deep to illustrate the capabilities of human beings, both good and bad. It also calls into question the absoluteness of good and bad. In one case the preacher makes a choice motivated by the christian tenets of charity and good will. Yet this choice is invariably a misguided one and will lead to no good. The King is full of this sort of dichotomy and it is all the richer for it. Needless to say, William Hurt is as good as ever in his role as the preacher. And the young man who serves as a reminder of the preacher's past is fantastic as well. See it.
Movie Review: The King of Indy Films
Summary: 4 Stars
The King is an intense, often painful film about a young man named Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal) who gets out of the Navy and comes to Corpus Christi, Texas to find his father, Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt). When Sandow tells Elvis to stay away from his family, he doesn't realize what he's brought upon his family.
This film is full of remarkable performances. Paul Dano (Ballad of Jack and Rose, Little Miss Sunshine) is a young Christian fundamentalist pushing to get intelligent design into the school curriculum. Every time this guy appears in a film, his characters are well-developed and totally unique. He's perfect in The King. Pell James, as the object of Elvis's affection is equally awesome. William Hurt's Pastor Sandow is an amazing character creation and worthy of an Oscar-nomination.
Like Monster's Ball (one of the writer's of this wrote Monster's Ball), The King is terribly depressing, but worth watching for the moving story and performances. There's a lot of sex and violence interspersed through this dark story. You may not find yourself wanting to watch it again and again, though. The most interesting part of the film is the examination of Pastor Sandow's faith and how he uses it to deal with the events that occur. The phrase "I need to get right with God." will never sound the same to you again, after viewing this film.
Movie Review: Enjoyable on many levels...
Summary: 5 Stars
"The King" is a movie that unwinds effortlessly before your eyes, gliding like a river through the depths of a Corpus Christi summer. An entrancing palette of emerald green lawns and cool blue refinery lights combines with a chiming, dulcimer-laden soundtrack to mesmerizing effect. The film lulls and soothes, until after watching, when you are forced to reflect on the mayhem you have just witnessed.
Then, too, there is something very oddly familiar about this tale of woe, which seems to obliquely refer to several Biblical stories.
William Hurt would seem to be the titular "King". He plays David Sandow, the authoritarian pastor of a prosperous Evangelical church in Corpus Christi, the leader of a large "flock", and a prideful man. He lives a very affluent life with a beautiful suburban home, a lovely wife (Laura Haring, who literally disappears into her role), and two beautiful, obedient teen-age children. Interestingly enough, he seems more like a Medieval king than a Christian one. The symbol that reigns in his home isn't a cross, it's a high-powered hunting bow.
David Sandow is hiding a secretive past, which comes back to haunt him in the form of "Elvis" (Gael Garcia Bernal), a son that was born out of his union ( in the days before he was "saved") with a Mexican prostitute.
Freshly discharged from the Navy, Elvis seems to have no other purpose in life than to claim his rightful inheritance as a part of the pastor's family.
Biblically, the character of Elvis would seem to refer to the "Prodigal Son" as well as to the story of Jacob ("the Supplanter"). But Elvis is an oddly vacant character, sort of a borderline personality who has no moral center. He is a drifter possessed of a kind of animalistic grace, and when David Sandow bars him from his church and his home, retributions occur--again, in sort of a pre-ordained, Biblical fashion. Elvis lays with Malerie ( Sandow's daughter), kills Sandow's son, and having effectively covered his tracks, eventually replaces the "good son" in Sandow's home. But the tragedy continues to play out, and further consequences are in store...
There are just a multitude of things to recommend this movie. The actors are all excellent in their roles--especially Hurt, as Sandow, and Pell James as Sandow's daughter.
Bernal, as Elvis, will definitely remind veteran movie-watchers of young Martin Sheen, in "Badlands" (where Sheen played a character based on murderer Charles Starkweather.)
Other subtexts in "The King" reveal themes that were present in movies like "Lone Star", and "The Border", two other films that were set in Texas. "The King", with its pointed references in the musical score to Tex-Mex and Mexican music, like the aforementioned movies seems to be making comments about the relationship of the two cultures ( another way in which Elvis can be seen as a threatening heir.)
Five stars for a masterfully woven, sneaky-good movie.
Movie Review: THE MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF THE YEAR
Summary: 5 Stars
i loved this film. it is incredibly daring, in the vein of "Badlands" its relentless but true to tragedy. it will keep you thinking about it for days to come. Also Gael Garcia Bernal who plays the lead is an amazing actor and the love story will break your heart.