Loosely based on Chimes at Midnight , Henry V

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2019)

With the success of GOT, there has been a renewed interest in late Medieval English history, and Shakespeare's history plays . The King is loosely based on Chimes at Midnight by Orson Welles which Welles based on Shakespeare's Henry V. It's the story of Chimes at Midnight told from the point of view of Prince Hal rather than Falstaff. Prince Hal is young rebellious and dissolute , Falstaff is his mentor in debauchery. Then through circumstance in-spite of Prince Hal's disavowal of the throne he becomes king. This all happens at the beginning to reveal more would spoil. All the references I mentioned at the beginning are alluded to enough to pick up on if you are familiar with them but don't get in the way if you don't know them as the film can stand on it's own.
Beautifully shot darkly in natural light gives both accurate vision of what the late Middle Ages looked like and sets an emotionally sombre tone for the movie, the acting is very good and seamless, all the cast working off each other so none truly dominates. Timothée Chalamet is the lead and does admirable portrayal of the loss of innocence and idealism to the assumption of responsibility and in Medieval terms this also translates to ruthlessness. Some have mentioned that the film is a bit too long but this is necessary to set the tone and tell the story.