Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2022 film, The Lost King, starring Steve Coogan and Sally Hawkins.
In Edinburgh, Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins) is overlooked for a promotion at her sales job due to issues from her chronic fatigue syndrome. Phillippa’s ex-husband John (Steve Coogan) insists Philippa take their child to the theatre to see Shakespeare’s Richard III, where Philippa spies a kindred spirit and a calling.
The discovery of Richard III’s remains in a Leicester city carpark was worldwide news. What a quaint and odd resting place for the former king of England! What wasn’t as well known was the story behind the discovery, and the political shenanigans that mirrored the destruction of Richard’s own reputation.
Sally Hawkins gives a rich, authentic, and nerve-wracking performance as the quiet but determined amateur sleuth who recognises Richard III as a wrongfully maligned character, due to his disability and inability to stand up for his own reputation. Sally is similarly judged due to her own illness, and also finds herself absent from fighting for her own reputation amongst the political shenanigans of her workplace, and the University of Leicester is quick to cut Philippa out of the big find.
So strong is her tie to King Richard III, Philippa is led by her feelings to where the King rests, visually represented by an apparition of King Richard in the form of a Shakespearean actor. In turn, Philippa must fight for respect and recognition of the mostly male team that leads the University’s financiers and the excavation team digging the ditches.
Verdict: An unsurprising, by-the-numbers retelling of contemporary historical events, led by an empathetic performance by Sally Hawkins. 2.5 stars.
- Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net.
