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Following his discharge from the U.S. navy a very troubled
Elvis Valderez goes looking for the father that he has never
met. Rather than greeting him with open arms Pastor Sandow
rejects him out of hand stetting off a string of events which
lead to inevitable tragedy...
The
King was directed by James Marsh and co-scripted by Milo
Addica and won the American Independents Award, for the director
at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Anyone who has seen either
Birth or Monster's Ball, by Addica, will know
that they're in for a slice of hard hitting controversy -
here is a writer who likes to write about the darker side
of life.
This
is not the film that you think you're going to see. Given
the basic set-up the audience will be expecting a film about
a corrupt Pastor rejecting his sensitive, and hard done by,
illegitimate son. Oh no, this is a film about evil and revenge,
with lots of twists in the tale to keep you guessing. With
hindsight, at the close of the film we see that rather than
being a victim of circumstances Elvis arrives in town with
a very specific agenda.
The
casting of the film goes a long way to putting you off the
track, Gael Garcia Bernal, who had previously been in The
Motorcycle Diaries, has a wide-eyed innocence which makes
you rout for him right from the start. Ok, so there is one
oddity in that he appears to be seducing sixteen year old
Malerie Sandow (Pell James) in the full knowledge that they
share the same father, but hey, maybe it's a story of star-crossed
lovers, whose love was never meant to be - but then why is
he having sex with her.
William
Hurt, as Pastor Sandow, also succeeds in laying down a few
false trails of his own. He looks less like a man of god and
more like someone who would beat you to a pulp with a pool
cue. So, by misdirection, your sympathies are already skewed
in the wrong direction.
Ultimately,
the film poses the question about whether the sins of the
father are visited on the son, as a trail of physical and
psychological destruction are brought about by the arrival
of Elvis.
If
I seem to be a little vague about some of the plot points,
its because this film cries to be seen, without too much explanation,
so as not to spoil the headlong rush into evil and your realisation
that you really had no idea what was really going on.
The
disc comes with a very generous set of extras, including a
full length commentary from the director and producer; three
long deleted scenes; rehearsal footage (10 mins); an interview
with the director (17 mins); an interview with the writer
(16 mins); and the original theatrical trailer. The film is
presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 aspect ratio, with a choice
of stereo, 5.1 or DTS audio. The print is pristine.
This
is another good, strong independent film which doesn't shy
away from looking at some of the more unpleasant aspects of
life.
Charles
Packer
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