The King Is Alive
IFC Releasing | Release Date: May 11, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
wWhat doesn't entirely succeed as convincing psychodrama makes one hell of an acting exercise (it's great fun to see great actors purposely mangle the Bard's immortal words), and Levring's cast -- McTeer in particular -- run with it. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Tendency to pretentiousness. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Stylish and gritty, The King Is Alive lacks the impact of revelation that might have made the journey worth taking. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A deeper problem in The King Is Alive is an almost total absence of spontaneity.
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Either you like your movies to be, well, movie-like: imitations of life, with musical accompaniment and artificial lighting and tracking shots and looped dialogue; or you like them to be re-creations of life, sans the artifice. The King Is Alive clearly falls into the latter camp. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderTed Shen
Most of the confrontations are shot in close-up, dragging us into the melee as the grungy-looking actors spit out their venomous dialogue. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
The tedium of the situation is felt by the audience, but too often in the wrong way: We don't empathize so much as suffer through the movie. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
The prettiest Dogme film to date may be the one that has the least to say.
40
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
The most obvious casualty ends up being Jennifer Jason Leigh, an actress known for her fearless choices, who is literally pissed on for her trouble.
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52 Critic Reviews

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