charming
Looking for a sweet and charming film with a quintessentially British feel? The Lost King is a true story that follows mum turned amateur historian Philippa Langley as she delves into the history of the vilified King Richard III, including the unknown whereabouts of his remains…
After seeing the eponymous Shakespeare play, where the actor playing Richard III seems to address Philippa directly during the performance, she forms a visceral bond with his story and starts to see his apparition in her everyday life – a great vehicle for humorous moments throughout the film. Following some initial research, she begins to question the accepted history around the King. The unfair discrepancy between how Richard has been depicted in history and the reality resonates with Philippa, who suffers from ME (a chronic fatigue syndrome) and has been treated unfairly at work due to the illness, inspiring her to seek out the truth by digging for his burial site.
In the safe hands of director Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity), writer Jeff Pope (Stan & Ollie) and featuring a fantastic performance by lead Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) as Philippa, the film does not lack for quality in all aspects. Her estranged-husband John is played by comedian Steve Coogan (Philomena), who also co-wrote the film alongside Pope, so it is filled with knowing nods and funny quips to add some levity to what may potentially be a dry subject for some. Similarly, the jaunty soundtrack by Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat carries the movie along nicely with a nod to classic sleuth tales of Sherlock and other British detective shows.
Themes of prejudice, discrimination and sexism are particularly prevalent throughout the film, in both the workplace as well as the stuffy academic fields that Philippa must get on side to fund her search for Richard. In one scene, she is advised by one of the few women in the archaeology society to stop saying she “has a feeling” about King Richard’s whereabouts, and instead provide cold-hard evidence if she wants to win financial support for the dig. She is also passed over for promotion at her male-dominated workplace for “reaching her level” in light of her illness, and later publicly mocked at a university lecture for questioning the history of Richard III. This discrimination provides the film with some real emotional pull among the more light-hearted moments and helps secure the viewer’s total support for Philippa.
Owing to the enormous publicity the real-life story received, the film’s events will perhaps not be a great reveal in the style of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. Nonetheless, smart pacing and well-developed characters ensure that the viewer is on board to see how events unfolded rather than what takes place. This includes Philippa’s battle to convince people of her hunch about Richard, with Leicester University taking on a sort of villain role in the plot as the sceptical supporter that later tries to swoop in to take the credit. In fact, the depiction of the university, as well as several other people in the film, has brought about rumblings of legal action. Despite these doubts about accuracy, it does not detract from the film’s main strength in showing Philippa’s struggle against the establishment, in finding her voice and – as with the King – to be seen as more than what others unfairly label her.
Although the humour can be heavy-handed at points and the sentimental parts may veer towards cliche, the film treads the right side of self-deprecation so you do not take these faults too seriously and focus on rooting for Philippa in her quest for vindication, for herself as much as for the lost King.
Reviewed by Jack Seaton
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