Customer Reviews

The King (El Rey) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This dark and unsettling allegory, which mixes very bad behavior with Christian evangelism, features two very fine performances from its leads Gael GarcÍa Bernal and William Hurt, but this tale of the prodigal son returning to his roots never really picks up steam beyond it's initial exposition. Consequently, we have a film that features a potentially great story, but for the most part, is too stultifyingly slow-paced to really make that much of an impact.

We first meet Elvis (Bernal), a twenty-something drifter, who has just been released from the navy. He arrives in Corpus Christi, Texas, hopefully seeking to reconnect with his estranged father (Hurt) who unknowingly fathered him. It turns out that his father is now an evangelical pastor with a nice family and predictably, and although he's civil to Elvis, he wants nothing to do with his illegitimate son.

Dejected, Elvis stays on in the City, rooming in a run-down, crummy hotel and obtaining employment as a pizza delivery boy. But some unstoppable, Machiavellian force begins to drive the young man and he begins to exact revenge on the pastor, starting by seducing his daughter a beautiful 16-year-old (Pell James) in all her Catholic innocent glory. Keep in mind he is seducing his half-sister.

But this seduction is nothing compared to Elvis has in store for the holy man's other geek son Paul (Paul Dano), a gawky teenage Christian rock singer and campaigner for intelligent design. Is Elvis just a mild-mannered, untroubled sociopath who is picking on an innocent family? Or is there perhaps more substance behind his motivations?

Director James Marsh has some good ideas here, embedding his main protagonist with a Ripley-like amoral sensibility, yet what he's eventually trying to say is never quite clear. Perhaps he's juxtaposed the fine line existing between redemption and damnation and he certainly throws in some interesting ideas, strong characterizations, and a couple of sensational twists.

However, he obscures these aspects with muddled and too slowly paced directing and a surprisingly vapid central character - a bit of a Johnny one note - that even the talented García Bernal cannot overcome. The story is indeed rich and troubling - and somewhat provocative - but the director's choices about what scenes to reveal and what to leave ambiguous feel a bit arbitrary to say the least, and the ending especially feels a bit flat and perfunctory and not as profound as it should have been.

Still, Hurt and Bernal make this unfocused film watchable. Hurt's faith has a rugged intensity, and it's a good bet he's more arrogant than your own pastor. Yet the actor also stays away from portraying him as the devilish fire-and-brimstone preacher, the stereotype that the character could have so easily fallen into.

Bernal in his quiet way is as charming and as sensual as ever - his looks lend themselves well to this kind of role. But the character of Elvis just lacks the emotional gravitas and weight that say the terrific Ed Norton bought to his disconsolate transient cowboy in Down in the Valley, a much better film that The King bears a remarkable similarity to. Mike Leonard October 06.

If you read the summary of THE KING I read before viewing it, you probably expected a heartwarming tale. A young man named Elvis finishes his stint in the Navy and decides to look up his father who abandoned him. The father has since changed his life, married, started a family, and is now a minister. Such a summary promises a conflict or two, but also redemption. Well, I don't want to spoil the experience for potential viewers, but let's just say that when it's on television, it won't be shown on the Hallmark Channel or the Family Channel. It's not a uplifting tale of sin and redemption, but it's still interesting to watch.

The film has its weaknesses, but it also has strengths that make it a gripping tale. Gael Garcia Bernal plays Elvis, the young man in search of his father. He's almost emotionless in the role, but this is intentional. If he pushed for the sympathy vote as the abandoned child or went the psychopath route, the film would be too unbelievable. Bernal keeps us interested in what Elvis' next move will be, and we wonder what is going on in his head but we're never certain. William Hurt plays David Sandow, the minister and family man who is also Elvis' father. Paul Dano of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE fame is the oldest son Paul, the apple of his father's eye who will soon graduate from high school and head to Bible college. Both Hurt and Dano work with the material, but one fault of the film is that we're introduced to some potentially wonderful conflictual situations between father and son (Paul), first son (Elvis) and beloved son (Paul), and conflict between the three, but they never materialize. The most troubling relationship in the film is that of Elvis and Malerie, the Sandow daughter. Malerie is a main character and some central situations revolve around her, but she's also the most fully developed character of the film. Pell James plays the young woman with sympathy and we believe she is conflicted, a young woman who is beginning to realize she's bigger than the life she's living but isn't ready to abandon it just yet.

For me, the best way to describe this film is interesting. It did not have enough conflict to make it engrossing, but it is well acted and the setting make us feel as if we're in the middle of the Bible Belt. I'm not sure if it's a watch again and again type of film, but still it's worthwhile and certainly makes the viewer think.

The hottest new young actor out there, Gael Garcia Bernal, has once again expanded his range. In The King he brings to life a recently discharged servicemanr's plight when he tries to connect with what distant roots he has left. He visits the church where his father, who he has never met, preaches. He is looking for the home he feels he has missed. When he confronts his father, William Hurt, he finds no acceptance only a cautious warning. Hurt, who is now a respected member of the community and family man with a teenage son and daughter, has extreme apprehension about this son he admits to but has every intention of casting out.

What we soon find out is every action has a catastrophically ironic result. If only we knew what was to come we would have never have made that move but that's hindsight.

The King is excellent in every aspect. All principle acting is superb with Bernal and Pell James being standouts. I loved the music which maintained the sober tone that permeated the entire film. Beautiful cinematography and editing helped the compelling nature of the script. This is a perfectly executed, disturbing adult drama. Not for all tastes but packs a quite a wallop. Highly recommended.

"The King" is a haunting film from the studio that brought us "Down in the Valley" and features Gael Garcia Bernal ('Dot the I') and Oscar Winner William Hurt ('Kiss of the Spider Woman'). "The King" came and went pretty quietly. It got O.K. reviews (although Richard Roeper said that Hurt's performance was one of the best performances you'd see...Odd, since it's far from Hurts best) and slipped quietly onto DVD. It looked promising enough. The cover says "Disturbing" and the premice of the film sounded interesting. It's definitely a weird little movie. Bernal plays Elvis, a young man who is discharged from the Navy and heads to Texas to meet his father David (Hurt, covering up his trademark voice with a Texan accent). David is a pastor and is a borderline "fire & brimstone" kind of guy. He's married now to a woman named Tyla (Laura Harring) and has two kids Malerie (Pell James) and Paul (Paul Dano, 'Little Miss Sunshine'). David feels that Elvis was the product of past sinning and therefore, wants nothing to do with the boy. Elvis kind of moves on, but finds himself falling in love with Malerie. Even though we know it's, technically, incest. It's never really mentioned in the film. After Paul discovers that Elvis has been hanging around with his sister, he threatens to tell David and Elvis kills him. It's quick, shocking, and unexpected. Elvis quickly does what every movie character does; He ditches the body. As David searches for his "lost" son Paul and Malerie finds out that she's pregnant, David finds himself coming to terms with Elvis. The movie eventually throws a curveball and then ends abruptly. I didn't like the ending immediately, thinking "that was cheap." The ending works really well, I think the final line of dialogue sums up the movie pretty well. I've only seen Bernal in one other film, but he's very good here. Other actors could've played this role better, he left some gray areas...But other than that, he's really good. As for Hurt, he's fantastic. As I said, it's not his best performance but it's really good. He gives an Oscar worthy performance, but will probably be forgotten come Oscar time because of how low-key this film was. The movie is a little bit haunting (especially the ending), but I didn't find it disturbing. If you found movies like "Rivers Edge" or "American Beauty" disturbing, you might find this movie disturbing...But, I don't know. I didn't feel disturbed. It's not a masterpiece, but it was worth the watch.

GRADE: B

THE KING is a film that is bound to polarize audiences: it is a disturbing, brilliantly written and executed film that viewers will love or hate. This viewer found the work mesmerizingly addictive, one of the more exciting works of cinematic art to come out this year. Writer Milo Addica ('Monster's Ball', 'Birth') and director James Marsh have created an almost impossible story to tell and in selecting a cast of superb actors have managed to make the unthinkable thinkable.

Elvis Valderez (the sensitive and amazingly gifted Gael García Bernal) is being discharged from the Navy as the story begins. He leaves his ship with his duffle bag and his rifle and begins his life as a citizen. After an awkward encounter with a prostitute he sets out on a bus to Corpus Christi, Texas to meet the father he never knew (his mother was a prostitute who got pregnant on duty and gave birth to Elvis, living in poverty with her only child and then dying before Elvis entered the Navy).
He arrives in Corpus Christi, buys an old car, drives to the church where is father Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt in clearly one of his finest roles) leads his tacky congregation in evangelical tones accompanied by his son Paul (Paul Dano 'Little Miss Sunshine', 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose', 'L.I.E.' etc) playing the rock guitar. The pastor's family includes a wife Twyla (Laura Harring) who seems unhappy yet committed to the life of a pastor's wife, and young daughter Malerie (Pell James), a plain Jane whose flat affect reads as one who desires sense and change from her world as a controlled pastor's daughter.

Elvis confronts his father who does not know him and the pastor informs Elvis that his birth came at a time before he found Jesus: he lets Elvis know a bastard son is unwanted. Elvis meets Malerie, courts her, and despite all consequences Malerie and Elvis couple. Elvis works as a pizza delivery boy (his boss Bruno is played by writer Milo Addica), rents a tacky motel room, and devotes his attentions to Malerie (despite the fact that pastor David has forbidden his contact with the family). Malerie becomes pregnant and tells Elvis she loves him - probably the first time anyone has ever confessed love for him. Paul visits Elvis's motel room advising him to stay away from his family and Elvis pulls a knife on Paul accidentally leading to his death. Elvis covers his tracks, disposing of the body in the river. He only confesses his act to Malerie who prays with Elvis for God's forgiveness and lets it settle. The rest of the Sandow family think Paul has run away (he and his father argued over one of Paul's songs not using the Bible as lyrics to a simple tune meant to convince the school and public of Intelligent Design versus Evolution) and place signs throughout the town to recover him. Pastor David watches Elvis mop floors in the pizza parlor, tells him he wants to talk and the two take a ride - where the pastor teaches his 'son' how to shoot with bow and arrow and tells him of his miscreant past. Elvis is invited to dinner at the pastor's home, then to live in Paul's room much against Twyla's feelings, and eventually the pastor introduces Elvis to his congregation as his 'son in sin'. The family doesn't cope and the ending begins to spin out of control as events quite bizarre and lurid take place, seemingly all to the end of Elvis at last feeling he belongs to the father he never knew. To reveal the ending would greatly diminish the emotional impact of the film.

Gael García Bernal handles this role with such emotional dexterity and finesse that at no time does he lose our compassion despite the horrors that engulf his plight. He is simply stunning in every way, an actor of tremendous depth and talent and a screen presence that is utterly commanding. Likewise William Hurt makes this Pastor understandable and despite his exceedingly religious right evangelical manner, he allows us to see motivation for his actions. Pell James, Paul Dano, and Laura Harring complete the quintet of players with polished skill. Director James Marsh knows exactly how to make this tough story work and his pacing and camera and music choices are exactly on target. For this reviewer this film is one that will linger in the mind indelibly. Such a shame that the subject matter may prevent a large audience from seeing one of the best films of the year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 06

i loved this film. it is incredibly daring, in the vein of "Badlands" its relentless but true to tragedy. it will keep you thinking about it for days to come. Also Gael Garcia Bernal who plays the lead is an amazing actor and the love story will break your heart.

When it comes to your life three things can be counted on, what you fear will appear, what you resist will persist, and what you disown will come home. Rarely are those principles better illustrated to dramatic effect than in The King.

William Hurt plays the part of the respectable preacher, and Gael Garcia Bernal, the illegitimate former soldier son, seeking acknowledgment and love. When the preacher disowns this son by a relationship with a prostitute years before, the son then remorselessly sabotages him leaving a trail of destruction and criminal behavior which goes undetected.

The preacher has the preferred legitimate son, echoes of Cain and Abel, the naive beautiful virgin teenage daughter whom he wishes to seduce, and the attractive wife. All these things come under threat in this relentless pursuit, as this movie unfolds with gripping, surprising and extreme turns. If the legitimate son is out of the picture will the father accept him? Will he be stopped before it's too late, or will he destroy everything that matters to to the preacher?

It's also reminiscent of the Frankenstein story, where the doctor refuses to acknowledge his creation, and the monster destroys all that is light in his life. Undoubtedly, a powerful movie, some may find it scary, and you may wonder at the end what would have happened if the son had been accepted from the beginning.

I liked this movie when I saw it in theatre, and just because it was not a big Hollywood extravaganza does not mean that it's not a very worthwhile movie.

I think you will enjoy this gripping movie, which i highly recommend, and I hope you found this review helpful.

Other reviwers have noted that,Down In The Valley, provides a template for this one and is a and superior film. I can't agree, pacing and believablity in the pathology of the two lead types are only distant relatives. I found this a brilliantly disturbing tale...and I hadn't seen trailers or even read the jacket! Without repeating the story, which reviewers seem to feel the need to do, the kernel of the tension resides in the very ambivalence of Bernal's performance. It is never really clear where the depth of his pathology is rooted, and therefore the scope of his ambitions. It's a marvellously nuanced performance. How far will he go towards seducing his dad's daughter by the lake? Will he top the geek Creationist half-brother when confronted in his seedy motel room? And the look of consummate satisfaction as he raids the fridge of his dad's house after a life-time of exclusion! then there's the marvellous moment of the girl's dawning awareness of the implications of her relationship with Elvis, mid-congregation, as the dad spills his heart.James Marsh's direction has graceful timing throughout. The camera work dollying around the garden prior to the bedroom scene of the double murder is a thrilling stroke, and an unexpected tenderness where we presume gratuitous violence will pour forth. I thought the finale down the corridors of Fundamentalist power were right on and the look of bewilderment on Hurt's face, just the moment worth waiting for. I doubt he's be returning to his flock to absolve himself through public confession and accept Elvis for cleaning up. Quite a punchy movie.

"The King" is a movie that unwinds effortlessly before your eyes, gliding like a river through the depths of a Corpus Christi summer. An entrancing palette of emerald green lawns and cool blue refinery lights combines with a chiming, dulcimer-laden soundtrack to mesmerizing effect. The film lulls and soothes, until after watching, when you are forced to reflect on the mayhem you have just witnessed.

Then, too, there is something very oddly familiar about this tale of woe, which seems to obliquely refer to several Biblical stories.

William Hurt would seem to be the titular "King". He plays David Sandow, the authoritarian pastor of a prosperous Evangelical church in Corpus Christi, the leader of a large "flock", and a prideful man. He lives a very affluent life with a beautiful suburban home, a lovely wife (Laura Haring, who literally disappears into her role), and two beautiful, obedient teen-age children. Interestingly enough, he seems more like a Medieval king than a Christian one. The symbol that reigns in his home isn't a cross, it's a high-powered hunting bow.

David Sandow is hiding a secretive past, which comes back to haunt him in the form of "Elvis" (Gael Garcia Bernal), a son that was born out of his union ( in the days before he was "saved") with a Mexican prostitute.
Freshly discharged from the Navy, Elvis seems to have no other purpose in life than to claim his rightful inheritance as a part of the pastor's family.

Biblically, the character of Elvis would seem to refer to the "Prodigal Son" as well as to the story of Jacob ("the Supplanter"). But Elvis is an oddly vacant character, sort of a borderline personality who has no moral center. He is a drifter possessed of a kind of animalistic grace, and when David Sandow bars him from his church and his home, retributions occur--again, in sort of a pre-ordained, Biblical fashion. Elvis lays with Malerie ( Sandow's daughter), kills Sandow's son, and having effectively covered his tracks, eventually replaces the "good son" in Sandow's home. But the tragedy continues to play out, and further consequences are in store...

There are just a multitude of things to recommend this movie. The actors are all excellent in their roles--especially Hurt, as Sandow, and Pell James as Sandow's daughter.

Bernal, as Elvis, will definitely remind veteran movie-watchers of young Martin Sheen, in "Badlands" (where Sheen played a character based on murderer Charles Starkweather.)

Other subtexts in "The King" reveal themes that were present in movies like "Lone Star", and "The Border", two other films that were set in Texas. "The King", with its pointed references in the musical score to Tex-Mex and Mexican music, like the aforementioned movies seems to be making comments about the relationship of the two cultures ( another way in which Elvis can be seen as a threatening heir.)

Five stars for a masterfully woven, sneaky-good movie.

After being discharged from the Navy, a disturbed young man named Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal) seeks out his father, whom he has never met. When his father (William Hurt), now a preacher, rejects him, Elvis seeks revenge on his father through his father's new family.

"The King" is a "horror" movie, but not in the sense that you are probably used to. According to the "letter from the director", that is included in the DVD case of this movie, "The King" was partially inspired by the horror movies that the director saw in his youth, including "Brimstone and Treacle", a film about a strange young man who makes his way into the family of a middle-aged writer. That plot is pretty much the same as that of "The King" (except the bit about the writer), but to call this film a "horror" film would be misleading. The term "horror" usually evokes images of supernatural monsters or knife-wielding maniacs. Elvis is not a maniac and he is very much a human being. What this film deals with is the horrors that human beings are capable of, given the right (or wrong) circumstances.

I can imagine that this film might not be to everyone's tastes. It is slow moving to begin with, and the subject matter is often unpleasant (including the incestuous relationship that forms between Elvis and his half-sister). However, if you're not put off by the plot description, it is a well written and well acted movie (Hurt is in his best role in years and Bernal is always excellent) that takes some interested turns along the way. It's definitely worth giving a try.