Sporting some seriously striking visuals along with some equally striking haircuts, the first trailer for David Michôd’s The King has dropped and sees Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet taking on a Shakespearian tour de force as Henry V. Co-starring and co-written by Joel Edgerton, along with support from Lily-Rose Depp, Ben Mendelsohn and Robert Pattinson (whose golden locks rival his mighty moustache in The Lighthouse trailer), we will undoubtedly be bowing down to King Timothée when the The King comes to Netflix in the Autumn.
When it comes to Shakespeare, finding a new angle for adaptation is always going to be a struggle, so The King in fact adapts not one play, but three. We will see the reluctant ascension of Henry V, affectionately referred to as Hal in this iteration, as he is thrust into a kingdom rife with turmoil and war after the death of his father, a tyrannical king that the wayward prince had sought to distance himself from. Fortunately, he keeps the council of surly knight John Falstaff, played by Joel Edgerton. Edgerton himself has been making waves in front of and behind the camera, having recently directed conversion therapy drama Boy Erased, and here serving also as a screenwriter. Drawing together the worlds of Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, expect to see plenty of political intrigue, epic battles and sensory delight.
Chalamet has really proven himself to be the man of the moment after his rapid rise to mainstream success with 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, followed by 2018’s Beautiful Boy and his upcoming lead roles in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. He is reaching brave new heights and has clearly been preparing a convincing English accent for this role. The same can be said for Robert Pattinson as Louis, Dauphin of Viennois, our primary rival. Both actors are exceptionally multi-faceted and to see them colliding in an epic tale of twists and turns, as one would expect from a Shakespearian drama, will be a unique and exciting experience.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival out of competition, The King will see a limited theatrical release before heading to Netflix on November 1st.
Words by Jack Roberts