The King (2005)

Director: James Marsh

Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, William Hurt, Pell James

Cale:
I don’t usually like to watch movies while having any preconceptions about them, but anyway---I had high hopes for this movie! It said “William Hurt with an Oscar worthy performance, where was that? I love Gael Garcia Bernal, that’s why I rented it, but the religious overtones were subdued and baseless, and the sociopathic theme came abruptly and in a disappointing way. Plus, the beautiful Pell James, who has this quiet ambience about her, gets roped into this incest plotline that seems to relish in its own awkwardness. You know those movies that seem to enjoy making you uncomfortable? This is one. Maybe I’m just missing the underlying message it’s trying to convey, because the only one I can see is “Don’t join the navy, then discharge to your illegitimate father’s community, make contact, screw your half-sister, then decide to have a child-like sociopathic breakdown. Good advice I guess.The actors are great. Who convinced them to do this punch-drunk creeper?

Emily:
Yup, we have a creeper here.

I’m all for quiet films that show you a coming of age moment in someone’s life. But all I wanted to do (from to moment Bernal’s character set eyes on his sister) was shout, “What are you DOING!?”.

So much agony could have been prevented if the pastor had just told his children who that young man was; but his pride got in the way. One small decision sets off a chain reaction that ends in… oh I won’t spoil it for you, I see that Cale already has….

It’s possible that the ‘point’ of this movie was; swallow your pride (or else). Or maybe it’s saying something about your past always catching up with you. But whatever the point may be, some things were a little hard to swallow.

The movie had me interested though…. up until a pathetic and meaningless crime pushed my, “Oh, come ON….” button.
After that, fast forwarding was the preferred viewing choice. We paused at any point where it looked as if action might lead to meaning, but we were ultimately disappointed.

And a little weirded out.