Netflix’s ‘The King’ Review: Timothée Chalamet Outshines Everyone

Netflix’s New film ‘The King’ shows Timothée Chalamet as King Henry V of England loosely based on Shakespearean plays. It is a tale of power and betrayal where the talented actor Timothee has exceptionally portrayed a young man ‘Hal’ who has to unwillingly take the responsibilities of the throne and England.

Young King Hal, who is trapped amidst the politics, war, and degenerating moral values of his kingdom, he needs someone by his side who is wise, sensible and whom he trusts.

It was Falstaff played by Joel Edgerton, who has also co-written the movie. King Hal believes the most on Falstaff and he seeks advice from him regarding the state affairs.

I got time to watch the film last night and ‘Beautiful Boy’ the night before. After watching both the movies, I felt Timothée Chalamet is genuinely an evolved actor of this generation.

In both the movies, his characters are way apart. Here in ‘The King,’ he portrays a king who is wise, brave, remains true to his throne despite his wishes.

He wants to establish peace in England that his father had disrupted and brought miseries all around. He doesn’t want a war because he wants to save the lives of thousands of his men. He tries to negotiate but never begged, he emerged.

In ‘Beautiful Boy,’ he portrays Nic, who is a crystal meth addict, and he nailed it through his performance.

I really like the fact that he doesn’t pay heed to his physique. He doesn’t have six-pack abs or his masculine charm. He is thin, short, an average looking guy who takes up complex characters to portray and it is his body language that captures the attention.

At the very first glance, you will feel how he can be the perfect fit to play such an enigmatic role as King Henry V?

A king is supposed to be in shape not lean as he is. But if you keenly notice his body it symbolizes his reluctance towards the throne and the majestic extravagance that comes with it.

Director David Michod’s attempt to create that era of England is impressive. The entire movie has been shot in grey that signifies the dark and tedious theme. The setting of the film takes you on a tour of historical England.

The most vivid scene of the movie I would say is the fight scene between the kingdom of England and France.

The focus of the direction has been on showing the intimate and muddy fights of the soldiers. Unlike other period dramas, Netflix’s ‘The King’ hasn’t glorified ‘war,’ it has shown the intricate details of how war moments used to be in those times.  

An addition of Robert Pattinson as the Dauphin of France was a cherry on the cake. Both the characters of Robert Pattinson and Joel Edgerton have provided a necessary comic relief.

As the character King Hal, has too much seriousness levied upon him. A significant part of the film has also absorbed by showing the friendship that King Hal and Falstaff shared.

The blend of classic narrative with modern was quite acceptable. Although I felt there is a language disparity between the British English accent of Timothée and others.

If talking about accent then, the English of Robert Pattinson that he delivered is hilarious considering he is the Dauphin of France. The smart addition of his character in that grave moment gives the movie a considerable respite from being called ‘monotonous.’

Above all, Timothée does steals and rule as King Hal in the film. He has the ability to allure us through whatever character he plays.

His sadistic eyes, unforgiving arrogance towards his father, his love for his brother, and his powerful monologue to his soldiers all sum up, creating an extraordinary portrayal. Not his best movie, I would say, but he is evolving too fast as an actor.