“The Lost King” Review
Sally Hawkins (Left) stars in “The Lost King” as Philippa Langley, a lover of history who makes an incredible find of the body of King Richard III (Harry Lloyd).
In 2012, myself and the rest of the world were amazed that the skeleton of an English king from the 15th Century was found, of all places, underneath a parking lot. Five years later, I took part in a Shakespeare anthology play in high school where I gave the famous “winter of our discontent” monologue from the beginning of The Bard’s interpretation of Richard III, the same king whose resting place for the longest time was underneath a Volkswagen. That is the extent of my knowledge of this king. I suspect that many viewers have even less knowledge of Richard III which is why “The Lost King” is such an interesting film to check out. While a bit light in longevity, the film’s handling of the passion people have for history makes it a good watch.
Based on an incredible true story, the film stars Sally Hawkins as Philippa Langley, an unfulfilled British woman working in a dead-end job and who’s separated from her husband (Steve Coogan). After seeing a powerful performance of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” where she empathizes with this supposed monster of history, she becomes obsessed with the real history of England’s last Plantagent king. Eventually, after meeting like-minded history buffs and scholars, she decides to guide her obsession to find the long lost body of the king.
While passion is something that binds many lovers of history, other excellent word choices would be obsession and dedication. This theme has been the subject of many compelling films focused on research and a need to take on the status quo like “The Social Network,” “Zodiac” and a plethora of journalism films. What makes these films stand out is how their characters live and breathe what they do. Sally Hawkins certainly has a lot of passion infused in her performance and it’s what tethered me to the story.
Not only does Philippa want to find Richard III to bring the late king some peace, but she also wants to prove herself in a world that seems to disregard her entirely. Her relationship with her husband is on the rocks, her kids are somewhat detached from her, the boss is a nitwit and even those she tries to work with to excavate the car lot (some of whom are ironically named Richard) don’t take her seriously.
What’s really unique about this character is how her obsession is conveyed. At the film’s beginning, Philippa sees an actor (Harry Lloyd) play Richard III in Shakepeare’s play and continues to see Lloyd’s version of the king as a vision. She has conversations with this figment of her imagination and relays her insecurities to him. It’s this relationship that shows off the strengths of “The Lost King” with Hawkins giving it her all and the humor being spot-on.
However, the film’s biggest draw is that the passion that Philippa has doesn’t transfer to the rest of the film with everything feeling rushed. Are there challenges to her discovery? Sure, but they are resolved fairly quickly. While I’m not the biggest expert on Richard III or the Wars of the Roses, I was aware of Richard III’s discovery which is a challenge to this film. When you’re telling a well-known story where the outcome is known, it can be tricky to create suspense because the audience still needs to believe that maybe everything won’t work out. While I certainly got the intrigue all of these characters felt, I didn’t feel the stakes. I was interested in what Philippa was going to do but not on the edge of my seat.
Despite the film’s shortcomings, “The Lost King” is still pleasant enough and it did make me want to learn more about the actual history of the titular monarch since most of what I know about him is by Shakespeare. Yes it’s a historical play but the film establishes that the Bard definitely took liberties with Richard III’s mannerisms, appearance and what he actually did.
I hope that the film intrigues others. At the screening I attended, the audience member next to me talked to me about how amazed she was that this was a true story. She didn’t even know what “The Lost King” was about, she just picked the film based on the title. In an age when you can access trailers, reviews and showtimes all on your phone, that was an unexpected and refreshing revelation. If unexpected delights are what you’re in the mood for, “The Lost King” might charm you in the end.
