The first reviews of The King, the new Shakespearean adaptation starring Timothée Chalamet, are in.
Last night, the actor hit the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of the Netflix release that follows Henry V as he encounters deceit, war and treachery after becoming king of England in the 15th century.
Anticipation was high for the film, but the first screening has divided critics. While many have praised the talents of Chalamet and his co-stars Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton and Lily-Rose Depp, the film – from director David Michôd – proved a letdown for some.
IndieWire‘s David Ehrlich said the film “...would rather turgidly rehash its most basic themes than allow these actors to work through them.”
Robbie Collin forThe Telegraph– in his two-star review – backs this up, saying that “there are good actors being wasted all over the place”. The review adds that Pattinson, in particular, ”feels as if he has wandered over from the set of a completely different film during his lunch break.”
Screen Daily writer Jonathan Romney was equally as unimpressed. He described the film as “two hours of bleakly realistic historical reconstruction” and said that Chalamet’s “one-note performance suggests that he isn’t yet up to carrying a project of this dimension”.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney liked the film far more, writing: “Throughout, the pacing of Michôd and editor Peter Sciberras is unhurried, which may prove problematic for home viewers in the early going but ultimately pays off in storytelling as crystalline as it is gripping.”
Other films to have premiered at Venice includeAd Astra, Marriage Storyand Joker, which received an eight-minute standing ovation.
