REVIEW
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 The King
2006
Certificate: 15 | Runtime: 105 | Director: James Marsh
Starring: Gael García Bernal, William Hurt, Pell James
 
After being discharged from the Navy, Elvis (García Bernal) travels to Texas to find his father David Sandow (Hurt), who now works as a pastor. Not wanting to disrupt the life he has with his new family, David dismisses Elvis and refuses to meet him again. Elvis, embittered, begins hanging around David's house, and tries to seduce his daughter Malerie (James).
If it weren't so engrossingly creepy, The King would fall flat on its face. The characterisation is basic at best, and the film ultimately fails to engross us in the emotional journeys of its participants. However, its underlying darkness and the unclear motives of the characters ensure that we always pay attention, even though it's essentially for the wrong reasons.
At least in the beginning, the film is on Elvis's side. It wants us to think that what David has done is wrong and that he deserves some sort of harassment for the way he casually ignores Elvis. Unfortunately though, the film takes this too far, and rather than settling for letting us dislike David for his less than kind treatment of Elvis, it makes extra effort to show David as a selfish bully. His family doesn't fare much better; his son Paul (Paul Dano) comes across as a self-righteous nerd, Marlene is moronically simple-minded, his wife Twyla (Laura Harring) is glum yet irritatingly twee and smug.
Even Elvis himself comes across as manipulative, petty and in some respects, unreasonable, so he too isn't particularly easy to like either. So why does the film work at all? It works because we're never clear about the intentions of any of the characters. It keeps us guessing right up until its deliberately vague climax, by which time there have been so many surprises and twists that we've been sucked into the story without really knowing it.
With regard to the performances, all are solid although none are exceptional. García Bernal has a quiet yet menacing presence, Hurt is as dependable as always, although Harring is rather wasted. The King was written by its director and Milo Addica, who was also responsible for Monster's Ball. That film left me underwhelmed specifically because it was supposed to be engrossing, but I found the characters too unreal and emotionally vapid. Here though, that approach actually benefits the film, because we feel as though we know the characters in some ways, but have absolutely no idea what makes them tick.
The King is certainly an unusual film, and that actually works to its benefit. There's a brooding uncertainty to the whole thing that makes it perfectly watchable if a little underwhelming at the same time. However, it will keep you somewhat intrigued and is an appropriate length so as not to outstay its welcome.© David Mercier
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