The King Movie Review: Timothée Chalamet's Performance in the Netflix Epic Garners Positive Reviews at Venice Film Festival

The internet's crush, Timothée Chalamet, will be next seen in the Netflix original film, The King. The trailer of the epic drama was able to create a magnificent hype. Of course, fans can never have enough of Timothee on-screen after Call Me By Your Name's success. Despite many appearances, The King seems to be the actor's biggest outing since his breakout performance. The movie has been directed by David Michôd and tells the story of young King Henry V, who likes to party but is bestowed with kingship after his father's death. The King Trailer: Timothée Chalamet is a Reluctant Ruler in Netflix's Ambitious Project Based on Shakespeare's Plays (Watch Video).

The King had its world premiere at the ongoing Venice International Film Festival. The movie generated mostly positive reviews from the critics, even the ones who don't mind tearing apart festival movies for the slightest of underperformance. Here is a rundown on what the film critics are saying about The King.

Screendaily was one of the main critiques of the movie. They wrote, "The King is dreary miles away from the imaginative sharpness of Michôd’s career-making Animal Kingdom, or even his overwrought but vivid Australian futurescape The Rover. Whether or not viewers will head for this lavish Netflix offering will depend largely on the figurehead appeal of Timothée Chalamet, although his somewhat one-note performance suggests that he isn’t yet up to carrying a project of this dimension,"

The Wrap observed, "It’s a historical piece that defies expectation and offers both the thrills of battle and a thoughtful critique of war and imperialism,"

Unlike Screendaily, IndieWire was impressed by Chalamet's performance. "The strength of his performance is in how he lets the uncertainty bubble through him like indigestion, headstrong and shaking from the neck down — he’s never looked younger than he does in this movie," they wrote.

"Without the Shakespearean language, this is just an ahistorical story about a king and a battle. We’ve had plenty of those before, and little about Michôd’s direction distinguishes his film from a host of others—like, say, last year’s Netflix festival entry, Outlaw King," Vanity Fair noted. But they appreciated Chalamet's performance, and wrote, "What works about the performance, really, is the earnestness. Chalamet is eager to do a good job, just as Henry is when he finally decides to shape up and reign over the land blessed by St. George."

Variety appreciated that The King doesn't turn into an action movie. They wrote, "War is never glamorized in The King. That’s where the movie is different from, say, Braveheart," adding, "Too many movies set in this period end up as action films in medieval drag. The excitement of “The King” is that Michôd lays out the consequences of combat with gruesome precision, demythologizing the battle,"

Well, barring a couple of points of hard criticism, Timothee's The King has mostly garnered good reviews. The movie is due to come out on Netflix in October/November following a limited theatrical release. We are eagerly waiting.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2019 09:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).