Could The King Be a Contender
Friday, November 1, 2019 at 11:55AM by Jason Adams
It's a big day for Netflix's 2019 Oscar slate, with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman opening in eight theaters in New York (one of them being the famed Broadway theater the Belasco) and Los Angeles -- you can read my thoughts on the movie when it screened at NYFF right here. It's a great film, worthy of all the praise it's gotten and will continue to get. That Marty guy can direct a movie!
But if you're not near those eight theaters (or if you are, even) there's another choice from the streaming giant that I recommend you get your eyeballs on -- David Michôd's The King starring Timothee Chalamet has now hit their online service after its own brief theatrical window, and I suggest you find the biggest screen you can find for it...
It is breathtakingly gorgeous to look upon, and I don't just mean Timmy's bowl-cut. (I reviewed it here.)
I don't know if at this point the buzz on The King is loud enough to elbow any of the noisier contenders out of the way which is a shame, because Chalamet somehow delivers a rousing battlefield speech that I was actually genuinely roused by, no easy feat that. But if anything deserves to aggressively elbow its way into the chatter, and I'll do my damndest to throw elbows for, its the cinematography from Adam Arkapaw, who's worked with Michod several times now. Those war-torn oranges that his Macbeth seared into your brain two years before Blade Runner 2049 ripped him off? Yeah that was him. (Sorry Roger Deakins -- I still love you.)
With The King the palette's more muted -- picture a Rembrandt and then picture it come to life like we're inside the world of Harry Potter and that's what staring at The King felt like to me. Arkapaw's play with light and shadow is truly spectacular -- you can not just feel the dust hanging in the air, you can almost feel it falling onto the fabric of the clothes, the brush of those elaborate furs against skin, the hard dark knots in the wooded panels. This distant world feels immediate and tangible; even weeks later I can sense its contours when I close my eyes. That's not nothing!
Reader Comments (11)
Great article supporting the strength of the beautiful cinematography of this really great film. This year is an embarrassment of riches for Netflix and competing studios, and I fear some excellent performances and crafts of The King may be overlooked. At the very least, I'm hopeful that along with recognition for Adam Arkapaw, attention is paid for editing by Peter Sciberras, and costume design by Fiona Crombie. Chalamet and Sean Harris were real standouts with their performances, and they deserve some sort of recognition.
Great film.
JA: That Macbeth wasn't Michod. It was Justin "Assassin's Creed" Kurzel.
I cannot for the life of me stop mashing David Michod and Justin Kurzel into one person! Of course that's right Volvagia thanks, I fixed it.
Just saw this and it was much better than my expectations, beside the cinematography chalamet deserves to be in contention
First viewing was enjoyable on my big screen but I do want to see it in a theatre. Luckily it's showing in Vancouver for a couple weeks starting today. Intermittent showtimes to be sure. I think a second viewing will deepen the appreciation. I love this performance from Chalamet, he's a shrewd actor navigating his career from strength to strength. I saw someone question his range and he's dismantling that concern bit by bit.
Justin Kurzel directed Macbeth, not David Michôd. Michôd has also worked with other Directors of Photography including Dariusz Wolski and Natasha Braier.
What is the point of theatrical release, apart from qualifying for Oscars? By December, this Scorsese "film" won't be in any theaters. It's a streaming product for TV, phones or tablets.
I bought a ticket this weekend for The Irishman at Alamo Drafthouse. If ever there was a movie ideally suited to be seen at an Alamo Drafthouse it's this one.
I made a point of seeing this in a real cinema while I could. Subject matter was already of interest to me; the trailer had raised my expectations. And I was not disappointed. An ambitious, beautifully realized project that had me riveted from beginning to end. Chalamet genuinely delivers, Edgerton (who also co-wrote) offers an intriguing new take on Falstaff and Sean Harris (new to me) was exceptional. Depp's daughter Lily-Rose has only two or three scenes but she's the real deal, her face conveying levels of expressiveness that rang Jeanne Moreau. bells in my head. Aside from an immersive, literate script, there's also hand to hand combat, a vividly mounted siege and an impressive pitched battle. A fine production from top to bottom and worthy of Oscar nominations across the board.
I’m hearing no Pesci awards talk, just Pacino, is that accurate?
Lily-Rose Depp takes her one real scene with Chalamet and makes it sing; I wanted a whole movie with her, and if that’s not proof of talent, then I don’t know what is.
Chalamet does great work too on his voice and he has some great line readings. He’s worked on his body movement too. His range is improving, which makes his faults irk more, because he’s obviously not talentless.
But, meh, the role doesn’t really ask him to do much outside of being surly and conflicted, and when he has to deliver in his final big scene, his choice read a little modern. He has some facial tics he should pay more attention to (but most great actors have them so maybe it works in his favor, haha). Again, though, despite the expected accent wobbling, his voice really shifted the performance favorably.
I’m glad he got out of his clear comfort zone! Hopefully he continues to make different choices and test himself with Dune. A lot of chances there to coast on having played princely and kingly.
The film was eh. But what can truly be said that’s new about ANY king in 2019, much less about Henry V? Maybe I just wanted Patrick Doyle’s music to keep rising from the soundtrack! I kid, Nicholas Brittell killed it; he’s in my list of composers to watch for.