Movie Review: The Good King

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent British film based on a true story. 

This film tells the story of Philippa Langley, who despite not really having a background in history or archelogy, lead a search for Richard III. To be fair I don't really know how historically arcuate this film actually is, but I do know that it kept me thoroughly engaged from the beginning to the end. One thing I am pretty sure was not true were the scenes where she interacted with the spirit of Richard III (or was it her imagination). Yet I actually loved this part. It lets us see what is going through her mind at any given moment in a completely cinematic way. This makes the internal parts of her story feel more real and accessible to us, without resorting to an uncinematic internal monologue. 

It doesn't hurt this movie that the story it tells is an immediately fascinating story. Even with my unfamiliarity with the true story after watching this film, I became interested in the story, I saw here and wanted to learn more about it and see what parts of this movie are true and untrue. This is about the best thing you can say for a film like this, because if it can spark an interest in something you never gave much thought to before, than it is definitely a good movie. A major part of why this works so well is that our main character comes off as easy to like and relate to. The early scenes with her at her job and her tiredness of so much of her life, is something that all of us can easily connect to. We have all felt that way at one time or another. Many of us have also wished in these moments that like her, we could do something truly important. Though this is not an overly sentimental picture, this desire in us makes this a film that will make us feel good at many points. To have a real feel-good movie that doesn't live completely in sentimentality can be rare and that is why when a film like this comes out, it should be appreciated. This emotional connection is helped heavily by a wonderful performance from Sally Hawkins and an intelligent script by Steve Coogan (who also plays the main character's ex-husband) and Jeff Pope. It also helps that this movie takes its time, which allows us a greater connection with the characters and story. Most of all though this film is full of a real charm from start to finish, that simply won me over very quickly. 

This movie does have a few faults. These include supporting characters that can feel overly stereotypical and that even with the slower pace some story points seem to happen all to quickly (which makes it strain believability at some points). However these faults are easily overcome by the film's charms. 

This is a delightful movie and one I heartily recommend.