The Lost King is directed by Stephen Frears, starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan.
Based on a true story.
Premise
Philippa takes an interest in the story of Richard III after going to see the performance of the Shakespeare play. As an amateur historian she defies the academic establishment in her efforts to find King’s remains, which were lost for over 500 years.
Movie Review
A movie that has three good reasons to give it a go: Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan and Stephen Frears. We do warn you though, that only one of them has managed to impress us, in a movie that all in all, is neither impressive nor surprising, with a story that could very well have made better use of the various possibilities that this curious true story it is based on holds, eccentric in its essence, and that in its cinematic formulation, strikes us as insipid, suffering from unused potential.
‘The Lost King’ is a feature that has been created to escape the Shakespearean precepts (that is obvious) and yet, drowns in the quotidian when, deep down, it is begging to evade just that. This is a story that asks for cheer and becomes sad; a story that is born old and tired and whose director, unfortunately, has not managed to lift it out of its sarcophagus, but rather sinks it further down in tired formality.
The story of Philippa Langley has much more to offer (an amateur historian, divorced and with children), and it is in fact only Sally Hawkin’s work that manages to convince in this movie.
Our Opinion
Bound in all its formality, it fails to make good use of the story.
Director
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer. He has directed numerous acclaimed films since the early 1980s, including My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Grifters (1990), High Fidelity (2000), The Queen (2006), Philomena (2013), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director. Read More
Cast
 Sally Hawkins / Philippa Langley |  Steve Coogan / John Langley |  Harry Lloyd / Richard III |
 Mark Addy / Richard Buckley |  James Fleet / John Ashdown-Hill |  Lee Ingleby / Richard Taylor |
 Amanda Abbington / Sarah Levitt |  Lewis Macleod | Allion Peebles Sinead MacInnes |
See full credits >>
