It's the kind of work where characters develop on their own, without consulting the book of cliches.
Comment
06/16/06
The King (2006)
55
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:42
Rotten:34
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: This disturbing film about the past coming back demanding its due evokes classical tragedy, but is ultimately too heavy-handed.
Synopsis: Gael Garcia Bernal (THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES) may posses the rugged good looks of a classic screen star but he continues to dodge Hollywood, instead choosing to follow his own idiosyncratic path with... [More]
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, William Hurt, Pell James, Paul Dano
Director: James Marsh
Reviews for The King
Top Critic[Marsh] and co-writer Milo Addica display such contempt for their characters and religious conviction in general, they reduce everything to one-note banality.
06/15/06
Top CriticDisturbing, but not haunting or soul-scorching, which is obviously what the filmmakers wanted.
06/15/06
Dark, disturbing and audaciously original in a way only indies are given license to be anymore.
06/09/06
A complex, deeply disturbing parable that's certain to find as many detractors as fans.
06/09/06
A dark and deeply unsettling movie with its roots in classical tragedy.
06/09/06
Top CriticIsn't a particularly good film, but it is a perversely fascinating one.
06/09/06
Dense with religious allegory, The King is so bizarre and so sly even the Catholic Church didn't know whether to ban it or not.
06/08/06
Its attempts at symbolism regarding sin and faith are astoundingly heavy-handed and further dampened by an ending that will be greeted with either silence or sneers.
06/08/06
The first-time director, James Marsh, and his co-writer Milo Addica (who wrote Monster's Ball), sustain a black-comic tone, and the performances, as far they go, are quietly chilling.
06/08/06
A lurid, overheated Southern Gothic that wallows in its own unpleasantness.
06/08/06
A rather beautifully produced indie mix of melodrama, ethnographic detail, and modern Southern gothic.
05/30/06
The imagery and the acting are often sufficiently persuasive, reminding one of the old, um, cliché about clichés being clichés because they're true.
05/30/06
While the appealing Mr. Bernal can do little with the cruel task he has been given, the rest of the cast, particularly Mr. Hurt and Mr. Dano, invest their characters with real feeling.
05/27/06
Top CriticJust about the only way to make sense of the film is to view its Christian family the way that the director, James Marsh, does -- with a contempt masquerading as social criticism.
05/26/06
... one of the more disturbing and chilling films so far this year ...
05/24/06
Top CriticWatching The King is a mesmerizing, nerve-wracking experience. Bernal meanwhile heightens the tension with his ever-present angelic smile.
05/23/06
Hail to The King, a quietly shocking slice of Southern Gothic from British director James Marsh.
05/23/06
This story of a prodigal son returning to wreak havoc devolves into pointless and preposterous nastiness.
05/20/06
Top CriticA compelling, intelligent and provocative sins-of-the-father story with a terrific ensemble cast, and a standout Mr. Ripley turn by the ever-versatile Gael García Bernal.
05/20/06
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