Slow but Rewarding Retelling of Henry V Legend

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2019)

GRADE: B-
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: A powerful battle scene and Timothée Chalamet's fine performance does not an epic make.
JIM'S REVIEW: It isn't easy being king, especially if you don't want the job. But duty calls, and Henry, Prince of Wales, or Hal to his friends, must fulfill his destiny in David Michôd's historical drama, The King. The film is given the royal treatment with good production design, panoramic vistas, and lavish period costumes, with special mention to Nicholas Britell's elegant music score which elevates the film's pedigree to nearly epic stature. Yet, despite all of the filmmakers' noble quest for accuracy, the final result is a bit of a prodding melodrama lacking a strong narrative, compelling characters, and any real excitement.
Timothée Chalamet has the title role as the unlikely king and this young and talented actor adds another thoughtful and convincing portrayal to his fine repertoire. As his loyal friend and mentor Falstaff, Joel Edgerton plays his character with no humor and a far too serious edginess but Sean Harris has some nice moments as the scheming William Gascoigne. Robert Pattinson is Hal's chief nemesis, the Dauphin of France, and he entertains in his few scenes, but his borderline campy buffoonish interpretation and thick French accent just does not gel with the serious trappings and undercuts the conflict and the character's needed menacing nature.
Still, Mr. Michôd directs with authority and he crafts his film with much flourish. But his screenplay, coauthored by Mr. Edgerton, gets bogged down in too much historical details, politics, and court intrigue while failing to establish well-drawn characters and interesting dialog. Everyone talks in dry expositional conversations with no genuine emotional heft. Everyone pouts and stares. Everyone broods excessively. But then, is anyone ever happy in the 15th century?
As the battle lines are drawn between King Henry V of England and King Charles IV of France, the film starts to build some interest, especially in its very well-staged mud-soaked action sequence of The Battle of Agincourt, but this overall thrilling effect comes a little too late.(And let's face it, Mr. Chalamet's rousing pep-talk on the battlefield, sans Shakespeare's prose, pales by comparison.)
The King strives for greatness but settles for conventional storytelling with just a tinge of mediocrity.