The King

THINKFilm | Release Date: May 19, 2006

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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DrewJul 3, 2006

Until it lost credibility about 2/3 of the way through, this movie really had me hooked. Bernal was completely believable, and the cast worked well around him, especially young Pell james as the daughter. When the big plot turn happened, Until it lost credibility about 2/3 of the way through, this movie really had me hooked. Bernal was completely believable, and the cast worked well around him, especially young Pell james as the daughter. When the big plot turn happened, though, you had to start suspending disbelief a bit too much for it to really be affecting cinema. It showed a lot of potential, though. if it could have been scripted a bit more realistically at the end, it would have been chilling. It ended up just being weird, but was worth a view for Bernal's and James' performances.… Expand

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ChadS.Apr 2, 2007

In the tradition of "The Rapture"(Michael Tolkin), "The King" is a provocative, albeit highly implausible film that challenges traditional Christian tenets; not by blaspheming them, but by pushing the doctrine's spirit to its outermost In the tradition of "The Rapture"(Michael Tolkin), "The King" is a provocative, albeit highly implausible film that challenges traditional Christian tenets; not by blaspheming them, but by pushing the doctrine's spirit to its outermost limits of rationality. This overly schematic indie, reminiscent of "Last House on the Left"(Wes Craven), and especially Terrence Malick's "Badlands"(throw in "A.I." in there, too), highlights the Christian belief that all your past transgressions(pick a sin, any sin: murder, adultery, cheating on your SATs, etc.) are forgiven if the sinner opens his/her heart to Jesus Christ. With savage cunning and perversity, "The King" will make you wonder if this all-inclusive club should rethink its bylaws. Unless I read this film wrong, and a crucial plot point was meant to be straight-faced satire, "The King" loses its credibility when neither husband nor wife acknowledges the coincidence that transforms their family unit. If the filmmaker jammed our internal bull**** detectors with some ingenuous detail to make the Sandows' act of charity appear organic to the story(rather than the contrivance that it is), "The King" would've inspired the congregation of cineastes to shout, "Hallelujah, praise James Marsh!" from the pews to the rafters and beyond.… Expand

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JimG.Jul 1, 2006

Some good actors can't overcome unsatisfactory screenplay, poorly edited. Gael is a pleasure to look at, but the story doesn't hang together.

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