The King (2005)

Thank you Director and Producer (specifically you guys because I saw your Q&A after the movie in Austin)! Thank you for not saturating this with the standard dark moody music to match every scene's tempo! The music in this movie kept me tense and glued to the screen because it gave nothing away about what was coming next. Perfect! Thank you for keeping us wondering what drives Elvis and not making him behave like so many before him that do similar things. Because we couldn't be sure what he was capable of next, we felt a certain tension with every new scene. Thank you for not having a hidden 'twist'! Seriously. Thank you for the cinematography! I could describe why every shot was great, but a 360 circuit from the house through the garden and back through the house was my favorite! We were literally craning our necks with every twist and turn.

I loved everything about this movie. If you are a film student, take every preconceived idea about interpretation out of your head and just feel how your eyes are wide open at every next scene. Feel the tension. Just appreciate how they put something together and don't try think they came up with a message to get across and wrote a movie around it.

Fmovies: Not for the first time, I thank the British Cable/Satellite channels for making available an excellent film that that I would not have noticed at the cinema over here, in fact I don't believe it gained any significant cinema distribution at all. This is another example of the 'small' US movie (modest budget, even more modest marketing, no A-list stars) that is as good as anything produced anywhere in the world. A young fellow leaves the US navy and seeks out his father, who he's never met. He tracks Dad down to find that he's become a pastor in a born-again Christian church and now has a family of his own. I'll not reveal anything of what follows but will say that what develops is unexpected, shocking and totally gripping. OK, you get a sense that it will all end in tears but this is genuinely powerful stuff. Gael García Bernal is excellent (another Martin Sheen?) as is the rest of the cast. William Hurt, his glamorous male lead days behind him, demonstrates once again that he is an actor of real quality and ability – long may he continue to play similar cameo roles. I mentioned Bernals similarity to the young Martin Sheen previously. The King has some comparisons to 'Badlands' which blew me away all those years ago and I believe that this is as good a film. You need a slightly strong stomach but this is a powerful film for adults and I recommend it highly.

Gael Garcia Bernal has a knack of choosing roles that really challenge the viewer (Bad Education, And your mother too come to mind) and his role in The King is no exception. Superb performances from all the leads that left me with a chill down my spine as I left the cinema. It's impossible to comment too much on the plot of the movie without giving too much away but I was totally engrossed with this tale of Elvis seeking out his father who just happens to be a Pastor in the bible belt of Texas and what ensues. The camera work as it spans through the house of the Pastor in some of the final reels of the film serves to build up to a chilling finale to a story that goes places quite unexpected and deals with issues that are not usually addressed in today's cinema. Certainly not in such an effective way as is in evidence here. Bernal's quite detached way in which he plays this role leaves you with some unanswered questions about his initial motives but in my opinion does not detract from the performance or the film itself. Well worth the price of admission.

The King fmovies. I loved this film. It has an ingenious plot with several more or less unexpected twists. Religion and guilt are major themes in the film; themes that I felt were examined with a seldomly seen open mindedness. The acting is strong from all characters, and the portrait of the characters adds realism to the story as they are portrayed in a very down-to-earth, human way. I felt I could identify with all the characters (religious beliefs apart) in the film. I also think it succeeds in executing what I gather was one of its resolutions; telling the story of a terrible event without passing too much judgment.

The performance of Gael Garcia Bernal is solid and that of Pell James wonderful. In my opinion the two played really well together, as did William Hurt and Gael Garcia Bernal. I went ahead and watched this film without knowing anything in beforehand (I went to the cinema and chose a name from the list) which I think was appropriate for this type of film. Having known a lot in beforehand could perhaps have made it more predictable and less good. The film is interesting also in the fact that scenes depicting what in reality would be very morbid are made beautiful, a fact that pulls the viewer into the lovely high where beautiful film-making makes you want to be a writer yourself. This is not something you'll want to miss out on!

Probably one of the most F**KED up movies I have ever seen!!! None the less it is a gripping emotional film with a strong message about finding what is really important in your life, and treasuring it.

The persona of the entire church community made me chuckle, because it reminded me so much of my own church community. Secrets hidden within every corner of the church and everyone willing to cast the first stone at a sinner.

I really enjoyed the movie, but when I was walking out of the theater I was depressed more than any other movie has ever depressed me. Bernal gives a stunning performance that just seems to twist your stomach into knots.

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.