The King (2005)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

James Marsh

Writers (WGA):

Milo Addica (written by) &
James Marsh (written by)

Release Date:

25 November 2005 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The devil made me do it.

Plot:

A troubled man, recently discharged from the Navy, goes to Corpus Christi, Texas, in search of the father he's never met.

Plot Keywords:

Pastor | Corpus Christi Texas | Christian | Seduction | Rock Band

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gael García Bernal	...	Elvis
Derek Alvarado	...	Scoot
E. Matthew Buckley	...	Deck Officer (as Matthew Buckley)
Monica Peña	...	Brothel Manager (as Monica Pena)
Veronica Bernal	...	Elvis's Girl
Billy Joe Martinez	...	Mexican Salesman
Mohammad Ahmed	...	Mr. Chopra
Pell James	...	Malerie
Sally Allen	...	PA
Paul Dano	...	Paul
Laura Harring	...	Twyla
William Hurt	...	David
Roger Kunshick	...	Young Man with Flower
Ike Reilly	...	Rum Jungle Singer
Milo Addica	...	Bruno

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality involving a teen, some violence and language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 | Hungary:16 | Japan:R-15 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 | Malaysia:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

ContentFilm

Trivia:

James Marsh did not know the real age of the actress Pell James, who was playing 17-year-old Malerie Sandow, was until the end of the shoot, when she gave him a Thank You card revealing her true age. Marsh said that it was better that he didn't know as it would have proved a distraction.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the scene where David takes Elvis to the shooting range, he tells Elvis to extend his left arm. But in the next shot he's holding up his right.

Movie Connections:

References The Last House on the Left (1972)

Soundtrack:

Sad and Beautiful World

Deeply unpleasant but almost as impressive

This is a nasty piece of work. It's also an impressive piece of work, a sour and cynical dark comedy of a twisted kind of Americana by the young British director James Marsh, making his feature film debut. Elvis, (Gael Garcia Bernal), gets out of the navy and heads off in search of his daddy, the man who sired him and then abandoned him. Daddy, once a sinner, has now reformed and is a preacher with his own church. Bit by bit Elvis worms his way into the family circle, taking no prisoners on the way.

There are moments of shocking, unexpected violence and you are always left with a nasty taste in the mouth but at the same time, you are never quite sure which way the film is going to turn. In some respects it's a bit like Pasolini's "Theorem" but when I spoke to the director at the Dublin Film Festival he said he had never seen "Theorem", (but surely he must have known what it was about?), but did admit to being influenced in part by Dennis Potter's "Brimstone and Treacle".

It's a deeply unpleasant little picture but it is very well directed, (it feels unpolished, unfinished, rough around the edges which is just as it should be), and both Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt as his preacher father are superb. Bernal is like some beautiful, rotten fallen angel. Is he seeking redemption or total damnation? Hurt, too long in the doldrums, is on a run at the moment. With this, and Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" under his belt, he is very much back on form. See it certainly, but don't expect to be entertained.