Double Movie Review - The Lost King

 

So, as mentioned in my video game review last week, I would use today as a way to pay tribute to Robbie Coltrane. Most of you will know him as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, of which he appeared in all 8 of them, usually as the go-to person for advice and support for the main protagonists. Obviously I should point out that he is not that tall in real life, that was achieved through several people including him, portraying the character and a fair bit of CGI too. But he has done other things too, such as appearing in two James Bond films, an Ocean's film, a fair bit of Shakesphere and even a Pixar film too. He was also Scottish, which fits well into today's film, which has some Scottish settings within. A great actor and a great man who did a lot for films and TV. We will miss you very much, like with the other Potter stars that have sadly gone. RIP

And now onto the film, which has nothing to do with Halloween or horror, but has a few scary moments all the same. I like Shakesphere. I think all or most of his plays are brilliant and while most of them are very much fictional, Richard III is kind of based on true events. But apparently played out wrongly, as the true events of this film explain. Directed by Stephen Frears and written by and starring Steve Coogan (both of Philomena fame), this looks like it could be an interesting film. Plus with Sally Hawkins right front and centre, we're bound to get some great performances. So let's take a look:

Richard III (played by Harry Lloyd who also plays that character in the in-film play) has long been known as a hated king whose remains were originally to be believed to have been dumped in a river. After watching the play with one of her sons, Philippa Langley (played by Sally Hawkins) sets out to find his remains and give him the respect that she believes he rightly deserves. She joins her local Richard III society and enlists help from various people in her mission, despite the odds being against her and her estranged husband (played by Steve Coogan) feeling worried about her neglecting him and their sons.

While apparently not completely accurate to the true story (though I will say my sister was at Leicester University at the time where a fair bit of the film and true story is set), its pretty alright for a film. The performances from the cast are good and if you know your British actors well like me, you'll know nearly everybody that stars in the film. I don't know much about Langley's condition in the film, but I would say hallucinating the king can be considered part of that. I'm not sure, but anyway it's alright for a film, and very British/Scottish at that. 7/10