SummaryElvis Valderez (Bernal) is a twenty-one year old dreamer who has just been honorably discharged from the US Navy. With his duffle bag and rifle, he travels back to his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, where he intends to seek out his father -- a man he has only heard about from his Mexican mother, who has since passed away. (ThinkFilm)
Directed By:James Marsh
Written By:Milo Addica, James Marsh
The King
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
User score
Generally Favorable
7.0
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
62% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
28% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
10% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
100
The King's perception of religion is hardly friendly, but it's only one aspect of a terrific drama, one that ultimately admits that people can be as much of a terrifying mystery as their creator.
75
Behind the sad and vulnerable eyes of Bernal's damaged Elvis is both a fierce rage and a desperate need for his father's recognition, but he's more enigma than person. Hurt is more nuanced as the sincerely spiritual man faced with a past that threatens his family and his future.
75
Surely among the darkest-themed movies ever made.
67
The King feels like a morality play without any morals.
50
In James Marsh's The King, the usually wonderful Gael Garcia Bernal is all wrong for the role of Elvis Valderez.
50
Just 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. William Hurt, for one, deserves better.
25
There is no tragedy without character, yet the way The King drapes heavy situations around its feebly imagined personalities suggests a tire thrown around the neck of a poodle.
User score
Generally Favorable
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Aug 4, 2022
7
This is quite a dark thriller by the end of the film. Its a good example of character development and I liked the performance from Paul Dano, who I rate as an actor. This isn't particularly memorable as such but it is somewhat thought provoking and its not a bad film. I wouldn't go out of your way to see it unless the cast really excites you perhaps, no.
