Review: "The King" Finds Chalamet as a Mediocre Ruler

Scene from The King (2019)

For those with a Netflix subscription, this Oscar season has been extremely fun to witness from your home. This season has lead to some exciting results, whether The Laundromat, the Breaking Bad film El Camino, or the Eddie Murphy comeback vehicle Dolemite is My Name. If there's a box that needs to be checked off, the streaming service has one. In their latest Oscar-push, director David Michod's The King, the studio tackles the historical drama by focusing on the exploits of King "Hal" Henry V (Timothee Chalamet), a young leader without a strong grasp on leadership. The film focuses on him taking on France in an effort for expanding his power, and the film manages to be a bit of a slog in the process. It' s a decent period piece, but far from the most entertaining film that Netflix has released in the past few weeks. 

The King is the latest film to feature great actors taking on European history with middling results. In 2018, Mary Queen of Scots failed to earn Saoirse Ronan or Margot Robbie any Oscar love, instead of producing stuffy dramas better known for their costumes and melodrama. Speaking as Chalamet is part of a similar class representing the best of a new generation of acting, one could imagine that he would bring forth the charisma in a period piece that asked a lot out of him. He as King Henry, a man who would lead the country to victory and help to redefine Europe. For the most part Chalamet is fine, but Michod's direction is slow and meticulous, allowing way too much brooding and self-reflection. 

It doesn't help that the battle sequences are all that fun to watch either. The imagery is claustrophobic, showing bodies clanging together from underneath armor. The film clearly wants to capture a spectacle precedent set by Braveheart and it rarely succeeds. At most, it gets credit for decent cinematography and a score by Nicholas Brittell that helps to set the mood. Still, it's not enough to save the film. If anything, the film is more interesting for its eccentric choices, such as the choice to cast Robert Pattinson as The Dauphin of France. With an accent that is flagrant, it's fun to watch these exchanges and thing of what the film could be had Chalamet delivered a performance half as fascinating as that accent. The bond between these two men definitely serves as the compelling core of the film. There simply needed to be more personality to make the war scenes matter more.

For fans of historical dramas, the film will likely go over well. It provides a perspective on King Henry V that gives him depth and humanity of what it means to be a leader. The lush scenery at least gives the film an authentic look, and Pattinson's supporting performance has enough going on to keep the rest interested. However, it's among the weaker films that Netflix is pushing this Oscar season, which is a shame given that Chalamet has become one of the more interesting actors of the past few years. The film is good, but there's not enough here to make as clear cut of a hit like Dolemite is My Name or the upcoming The Irishman or Marriage Story. It's a fine film, though not one that's likely to resonate for casual fans of European history.