The Lost King

Name: The Lost King
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: March 24, 2023
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Adam Robb, Benjamin Scanlan, Harry Lloyd, Helen Katamba, James Fleet

2023

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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The Lost King (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: March 24, 2023 | PG-13

Starring: Adam Robb, Benjamin Scanlan, Harry Lloyd, Helen Katamba, James Fleet, Jenny Douglas, Jessica Hardwick, John-Paul Hurley, Lewis Macleod, Phoebe Pryce, Robert Jack, Sally Hawkins, Shonagh Price, Sinead MacInnes, Steve Coogan

Summary: In this inspiring true story, amateur historian Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins) believes she has made the archeological find of the century: the lost burial site of King Richard III. She takes on Britain’s most eminent historians, forcing them to rethink the legacy of one of the most controversial rulers in English history.

Director: Stephen Frears

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 108 min

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Critic Reviews

Moira Macdonald

Mar 23, 2023

It’s a feel-good film about dreams, about obsession, about believing in yourself when nobody else seems to be doing it for you, and Hawkins carries it with effortless ease. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Mar 24, 2023

With his charming, sympathetic picture The Lost King, Stephen Frears digs into the fairly recent rehabilitation of the misunderstood monarch’s legacy—as well as the 2012 discovery of his long-lost bones beneath a Leicester parking lot. Read full review

Jake Coyle

Mar 23, 2023

It’s the kind of comic, eminently British underdog story that Frears excels at. And with Sally Hawkins playing Langley as a woman undeterred by pompous academics and condescending naysayers, The Lost King makes for a charmingly droll tale of long-ago and not-so-long-ago reappraisal. Read full review

David Canfield

One lovely wisp of a movie. ... Offers few surprises but plenty of comfort. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Flawed but compelling ... [A] hallucinatory gimmick feels a few rewrites away from working smoothly, and the thematic linking of Philippa’s plight with that of her subject’s never quite convinces. But Hawkins is quietly impressive. Read full review

IndieWire Kate Erbland

By its final act ... “The Lost King” picks up enough steam ... yet even this last 40 or so minutes highlights how plodding the rest of the film is, how dull this story about literal grave-digging feels, when nothing less than elemental truth and a singular mission in life are reduced to, well, just a story, and not even an altogether real one at that. Read full review

Seth Katz

Mar 23, 2023

The film, a shabby account of the story behind the story, muddles its themes and only superficially conveys the importance of the historical insights it contains. Read full review

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User Reviews

rmurray847

Aug 10, 2023

This is Sally Hawkins' movie. Her performance plows past any weaknesses. The film (which is very entertaining overall; don't misunderstand me) is worth seeing on the basis of her work alone. Yes, on the poster's she is co-billed with Steve Coogan; but his role is relatively minor. HeThis is Sally Hawkins' movie. Her performance plows past any weaknesses. The film (which is very entertaining overall; don't misunderstand me) is worth seeing on the basis of her work alone. Yes, on the poster's she is co-billed with Steve Coogan; but his role is relatively minor. He co-wrote the script, and no doubt helped get the film made. But it's her show.

The basic story: Philippa Langley works in a mid-level, deadend job, and thanks to some health issues, she struggles a little with enjoying day-to-day life. When she's passed over for a promotion mostly because she's not young, she has a minor life crisis. Her marriage has crumbled, her two sons are pretty decent to her, but still clueless and she's a bit at her wits end. In this state-of-mind, she attends a performance of RICHARD III, and is struck by his story and wonders if history has treated him fairly. (Was he really a murderous, villainous hunchback?) She's driven to discovered the truth about him, and dives into history books, a group of pro-Richard "kooks" and finally, into the desire to find the true location of Richard's remains. He's been unaccounted for (and not really sought) for over 500 years. Why would this amateur archeologist expect to have any luck finding the lost king?

As this is a true story, you can readily find out how her journey went. But what any news articles WON'T show you is how this journey became an obsession that ruled Philippa's life for so long. And how she had to fight not only a patriarchy, but a patriarchy full of particularly disagreeable academic snobs. It's a journey of her empowerment, which culminates in a few moments that make you want to just stand up and applaud.

Hawkins navigates us through all of this expertly. We have sympathy for her character even as we recognize that she's a "difficult" person. She's touchy and twitchy. She speaks up at "inappropriate" times. (Inappropriate in quotes, because it all depends on who it's inappropriate to.) She is an unlikely hero, and yet, she ends up a hero to herself and her family. (The world at large is another story.)

This movie is full of moments of very British humor. Everyone is perhaps a bit wittier than real life, but virtually every character has a little room to breathe. Coogan is good in a role that calls for him to be largely unlikeable, yet keep us at least marginally on his side. It's a quiet film that nonetheless moves forward with nice momentum.

The script includes the character of Richard III himself, who appears to Philippa as a largely quiet character, seemingly holding her to account for her actions. To me, this device was really not needed. Philippa's own explanations for what she's doing are strong enough reasons to follow her story avidly; we don't need a "cute" device like a phantom king.

But really, just sit back and let the quietly brilliant Hawkins carry you through the film. She's an engrossing guide.… Expand