The Lost King

No heroes wearing tights. No high action fight scenes. No car chases. No laser guns. Therefore, the people who should be watching this gem of a film, will not ... unfortunately. Sally Hawkins reminds us (again) that acting can be art. Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, and Michael Jones deliver a touching screenplay. I loved this film. I was especially drawn to the plot line that we often unfairly define people by their physical shortcomings instead of their strength of character. We would all be better humans if more films such as "The Lost King" were made. See this film. And for criminy sakes, get your teenagers to watch it.

Years ago I read Josephine Tey's fine book The Daughter of Time and was blown away by what it had to say. Shakespeare's Richard III is a vivid and effective drama and just about all that most people have heard about this short-lived king, but historically it's almost as far as you can get from the truth. This 'monster' version of Richard was a hatchet job by Henry Tudor (Henry VII), who killed and deposed him and then made sure to blacken his memory. The reality is that Richard was a forward-thinking and pretty benevolent ruler in an unfortunately violent time. Historians have known this for quite a while, but what was not known was what happened to his remains.

So The Lost King is all about that latter mystery and the persistence of writer and amateur historian Philippa Langley leading to the discovery of Richard III's remains under a Leicester parking lot. The main drama consists of the many obstacles she dealt with, as well as the post-discovery attempts by The Authorities to sideline her and hog the credit. It's all very watchable and engaging. Sally Hawkins is predictably excellent as Philiipa, and Steve Coogan (who was also a co-producer and guiding force behind the production) and Mark Addy have nice supporting roles. In a somewhat surreal and unexpected touch, Harry Lloyd plays Richard's ghost, whom Philippa finds she can converse with. All in all, worth seeing!

And -- it's kind of hard to blame Shakespeare. His job was to create great theater, and it would have been more than dangerous for him to put anything on stage that was critical of Queen Elizabeth's grandfather (Henry VII himself).

I have been interested in Richard 111 eversince i saw Laurence Oliviers performance in the film in 1956. In May of this year i drove up to Leicester to visit first the Battle Of Bosworth field and museum and then to the modern museum in the city centre. So i was always going to like this film.

I could empathise with the main character as i also suffer from me or as its now known chronic fatigue syndrome.

It was a story worth telling and particularly to highlight the sterling work of Phillipa Langley. Who it would appear to have been sidelined by others,who are now complaining at their depiction in this film,notwithstanding the fact that they now have a spanking new museum which is bringing people like myself to go and visit Leicester.

For me this was one of the most enjoyable films that i have seen this year.

Amateur historian Phillipa Langley becomes fascinated with the life and death of the much maligned Richard III, she seeks funding, and the hunt begins.

If you're a fan of British feel good comedies such as Fisherman's Friends and Kinky Boots, those films of triumph over adversity, this will definitely hold your interest.

It's a truly fascinating story, and one of the only times I've ever seen Richard III given a bit of positivity in a film, he is often much maligned, known for Shakespeare's play, and for killing his way to the throne.

When the news of this broke it was an unbelievable story, so much controversy, so many view points, I remember it breaking on The BBC, it was quite something.

There are a few snippets I learned about Richard III, and some of the things he brought about.

Sally Hawkins is tremendous, she captivates from start to finish, despite a marvellous line up, including Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd and James Fleet, she really does shown through.

It's a great film, 9/10.

Not exactly 15 minutes of fame but I won a berth in the cathedral at Richard's reinterment. As a result I was very excited about this film and it really was a wonderful movie with Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan portraying these recent events with sensitivity and class. I liked the use of Richard's ghost to enhance the storytelling and the use of poetic licence did not damage the integrity of what happened. Visually, the sets were accurate and all the main characters are represented. Although I would liked to have seen the addition of Michael Ibsen who provided the DNA proof. But as a film about a topical story, it was a lovely satisfying movie.