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The King (2005)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
25 November 2005 (Italy)
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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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win
&
1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(21 articles)
Man On Wire Director James Marsh Presses Play on The Vatican Tapes
(From Collider.com. 9 November 2009, 9:22 AM, PST)
‘Man on Wire’ Director Gets Supernatural with ‘Vatican Tapes’
(From FilmSchoolRejects. 9 November 2009, 8:52 AM, PST)
(From Collider.com. 9 November 2009, 9:22 AM, PST)
‘Man on Wire’ Director Gets Supernatural with ‘Vatican Tapes’
(From FilmSchoolRejects. 9 November 2009, 8:52 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Deeply unpleasant but almost as impressive
more (64 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong sexuality involving a teen, some violence and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
105 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
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.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: Elvis claims his newly purchased automobile is a "1969 Cougar XR-7". It is not, it is a 1968 Cougar standard model (NOT an XR-7).
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Movie Connections:
References The Last House on the Left (1972)
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Soundtrack:
Helplessly Hoping
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (64 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The King (2005)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Boring Movie | MMSGemstone |
| The Clown (spoilers) | JoeytheBrit |
| The song Paul Dano sings!? | MrBlondee |
| Teorema parallels (spoilers) | grybop |
Recommendations
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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.