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The King

Play trailer Poster for The King R Released May 19, 2006 1h 45m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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58% Tomatometer 78 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Following his discharge from the Navy, a young man named Elvis travels to Texas and tells a preacher that he is the man's illegitimate son. His handsome face hides the soul of a devil, though, and as soon as he worms his way into the clergyman's life, he commits unforgivable crimes against the family.
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The King

The King

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Critics Consensus

This disturbing film about the past coming back demanding its due evokes classical tragedy, but is ultimately too heavy-handed.

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Critics Reviews

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Brian Clark Austin Chronicle The many possible ways to read the film might be more fruitful if Marsh's direction was more assured. Rated: 2.5/5 Jul 15, 2006 Full Review Michael Booth Denver Post A showcase for big ideas that winds up feeling empty. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 7, 2006 Full Review Dave Calhoun Time Out The King suffers from an overbearing sense of its own self-importance. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter This is a religion-professing country that usually turns a cold shoulder to films with spiritual aspirations. The King has the very thankless task of doing God's work at the movies. May 12, 2020 Full Review Brian Marder Hollywood.com Rated: 5/5 Nov 20, 2008 Full Review Amber Wilkinson Eye for Film The degree to which this film is unsettling is testimony to the strength of the acting and direction. Rated: 4/5 Jun 13, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ronald H One of the most distasteful movies I've ever seen, The King is nearly impossible to evaluate. I cannot fathom the filmmaker's intention. Is it simply to shock people? Is it a critique of Christianity or is he promoting it? The motivation of the protagonist is not explained. He's just a blank faced psychopath. Is there some kind of message about the grace of God's forgiveness, or is it just pure nihilism? I can't remember the last time I was so confused about the point of a film. Perhaps the filmmaker deliberately left everything unclear. Or perhaps he was just misguided. I can't even decide whether to recommend it or condemn it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/26/25 Full Review Audience Member The King contains solid performances by Gael Carcia Bernal and William Hurt and begins with a lot of promise but is bogged down by its wildly uneven script. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty tedious, in fact. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member An Indy film extremely well directed, written & acted. This film is a total indy type of flick, but it works really well thx to good cast & some very interesting ideas. Deserves a watch. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This is not an enjoyable movie, but that's not because it isn't well made. It's just a very uncomfortable, very dark, very depressing tale with no likeable characters and a completely unsatisfying ending. But I'm pretty sure that was the intent, so I can't entirely hate it for those reasons. The acting is good, it's just kind of like pulling teeth to watch it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting and somewhat unconventional story, but too unfocused to be shocking. Good acting makes it watchable, but you could only do so much with vaguely written characters. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The King

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Cast & Crew

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James Marsh

Director

Gael García Bernal

Elvis Sandow

William Hurt

Pastor David Sandow

Paul Dano

Paul Sandow

Pell James

Malerie Sandow

Laura Harring

Twyla Sandow

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The King

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Movie Info

Synopsis Following his discharge from the Navy, a young man named Elvis travels to Texas and tells a preacher that he is the man's illegitimate son. His handsome face hides the soul of a devil, though, and as soon as he worms his way into the clergyman's life, he commits unforgivable crimes against the family.
Director
James Marsh
Producer
Milo Addica, James Wilson
Screenwriter
Milo Addica, James Marsh
Distributor
ThinkFilm
Production Co
FilmFour, Edward R. Pressman Film Corp., ContentFilm
Rating
R (Some Violence|Language|Strong Sexuality Inv. a Teen)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 19, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 24, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$281.3K
Runtime
1h 45m
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