The King (2005)

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

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Milo Addica, James Marsh

Stars:

Gael García Bernal, William Hurt, Laura Harring

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

A motiveless malignancy? Elvis leaves the Navy and heads for Texas where he contacts his father Dave, whom he's never met. He is the pastor at a Christian community church. He tells Elvis to stay away and, without telling his family that Elvis is his son from a pre-conversion liaison, tells them to have nothing to do with him. But Elvis has already connected with Malerie, the pastor's 16-year old daughter. Elvis embarks on her seduction, while Dave examines his conscience and comes to a new conclusion. Can anyone get right with the Lord? Does the Lord hear?

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | incest | man orgasms inside a woman | sex outdoors | half brother half sister incest | 

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Taglines:

The devil made me do it.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gael García Bernal is a year and a half younger than Pell James who plays a 16 year-old.

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Goofs

On his first day as a delivery driver Elvis is shown by his manager the proper way to cut a pizza and put it in the bag. After the manager shows him how to do this he tells him to go deliver the pizza. Elvis walks out the door with just the pizza box. The bag has disappeared.

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Soundtracks

Cold Irons Bound
(1997)
Written and Performed by Bob Dylan
Published by Special Rider Music
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Licensing

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

A király

Filming Locations:

Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,927, 21 May 2006

Gross USA:

$282,183

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$757,310

Company Credits

Production Co:

ContentFilm, FilmFour, Edward R. Pressman Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1