THE KING TBC FILM AVAILABLE 1 NOVEMBER NETFLIX

In his second consecutive film for Netflix (following 2017’s Brad Pitt comedy-drama War Machine), writer-director David Michôd tackles – well, to a point - Shakespeare’s history plays, charting Prince Hal’s ascension to the throne in 15th Century England.

Starring Timothée Chalamet as the callow youth alienated from his monarch father (Ben Mendelsohn) and in league with the roguish Falstaff (Joel Edgerton), The King mashes together events covered in the Bard’s Henry IV Pt 1 and 2 and Henry V, as the newly crowned Hal rises to repel the French aggressors.

Penned by Michôd and Edgerton, the script deliberately moves away from Shakespeare, in particular simplifying the dialogue to more accessible exchanges that still feel of the time. Undoubtedly, this Cliffs Notes approach will irritate the purists, particularly Edgerton’s portrayal of Falstaff as a capable general who takes to the field in the climactic Battle of Agincourt (brilliantly captured by Michôd in all its muddy hell, true Game Of Thrones style).

Yet the performances sing. Among the stand-outs, Sean Harris is excellent as scheming aide William, while Lily-Rose Depp is punchy as French princess Catherine, a pawn in the chess game that is international diplomacy. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson’s turn as the Dauphin of France, with an accent straight out of ’Allo ’Allo, is comedy gold. Bonding it all together is Chalamet, who ditches Kenneth Branagh-esque blood-andthunder to convincingly depict a young man learning the true meaning of absolute power. James Mottram