Directed By Stephen Frears

Starring – Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, Helen Katamba

The Plot – In 2012, after having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a carpark in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley (Hawkins), whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with skepticism by experts and academics.

Rated PG-13 for some strong adult language and brief suggestive references

THE LOST KING (2022) Official Trailer [HD] Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd In Cinemas Oct 7 – YouTube

POSITIVES

This film summarizes that history is written by the victors, both in the tragedy that befell England’s once prosperous leader, but also to Phillippa Langley, who for the first time ever in “The Lost King” feels like she’s getting the respect she so rightfully deserves in unearthing one of Europe’s most fascinating mysteries. Whether you know everything there is to know about this true story, or nothing at all, the film and life’s poetic irony towards disrespecting our heroes is documented accordingly in the balance between respective timelines, with a bittersweet ending full of regret keeping this from being Phillippa’s shining moment. On that aspect alone, Frears latest is more than enough of a compelling angle, illustrating the timultuous and spontaneous ending of King Richard III reign, but also in cementing Phillippa as its primary protagonist, we summon a spiritual awakening from within her that not only provides meaning and merit for what this search means to her dull and unsatisfying life, but also articulate with her the many struggles and adversities that she faced, in and around the search, that makes her determination all the more admirable in tow. This is where Frears’ direction is most effectively rendered, as we interpret Phillippa’s own emotional disconnect with her family, a debilitating cirumstance with her medically diagnosed chronic fatigue, and her toxic work life, as the motivation to her ambition, cementing with it another warmly charming and radiant performance from Hawkins at the helm that effortlessly makes her the humbling dose of humanity we capably interpret in these films, all with Hawkins familiarity for quirkiness that plays so synthetically to Frears brand of off-beat humor. Hawkins is joined by a thankless turn from Coogan, whom at first felt like another conventionally selfish character he undertook, but instead certifies an evolution for characterization that simultaneously brought out the lived-in believability in relationship that he shares with Hawkins, but also the heroic efforts of his own character design to take on the responsibilities of the homefront all on his own, while his ex-wife chased her own internal quest. It proves that heroes of every life come in all shapes and sizes, and while the film does prove that their loving chemistry is still there, it would be irresponsible of them to embrace it for the sake of momentary loneliness. Beyond these aspects, the film’s twisty and gravitational score by iconic composer Alexandre Desplat conjures something joyful to the consistency of his compositions, despite an opening number during introductory credits that will remind you of Bernard Herrman’s legendary work in “Psycho”. This affords audiences an unorthodox approach in personality that supplants an edginess of sorts to the duration of the narrative, but beyond that several additionally versatile numbers that tap into the joyousness of life’s inspirational occasion, with the glowing innocence of Hawkins’ smile invoking a nourishing warmth to the engagement.

NEGATIVES

Not everything gels with the same kind of creative consistency as Hawkins’ magnetizing turn, or Desplat’s meaningful layers inside of audible complexity, as the film’s script by a trio of writers that include the real life Phillippa and even Steve Coogen, is given a surface level exploration of its investigation that doesn’t exceed the information provided on a Wikipedia article. This can be most felt in the lack of timely commitment to the various adversities that Phillippa faces in raising the funds to field her ambitious search, with momentary hiccups that feel like temporary speed bumps instead of vital subplots meant to push the dramatic intensities. Because the character never feels like she’s fighting against the odds for longer than five minutes at a time, it leaves the stakes and circumstances inside of the conflict feeling a bit sparse in translation, with the magnitude of her search obscuring the commentary of the community, which goes entirely absent throughout. In addition to this, a tonal imbalance and improprietary finds itself in a strange consistency to personality that the film frequently emits, leaving the humor in conjunction feeleing a bit underwhelming and often difficult to detect inside of scenes that are often played for seriousness. This has always been a personal problem in my experiences with Frears’ off-beat brand of humor, as he always feels timid to fully explore levity inside of the humility of his characters, and it’s especially prominent in a film where the punchlines feel so awkward in exploration, especially the sequences involving Phillippa seeing King Richard before her, which are approached with humor, but directed as a device of the character’s mental instability, which are anything but humorous.

OVERALL
“The Lost King” takes an incredible story of European history, and condenses it to conjure the cliff notes version of Phillippa Langley’s inspirational journey to internal enlightenment. Though the film is flawed in the surface level exploration of its sum, the scattered pieces involving a warmly charming portrayal from Hawkins and an attention-grabbing score from Desplat are enough to pledge your allegiance to this royalty, with no shortage of sincerity or sympathy to its nearly two hour reign.

My Grade: 7/10 or C+