Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan are the protagonists of this semi-true story signed by the same team as the film Philomena.
Amazing is the first word that comes to mind when hearing this story about King Richard III. reads, written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope and directed by Stephen Frears. Based on true events, the feature film focuses on Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins), an anonymous Englishwoman who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. A mother of two who she is raising with her ex, John (Steve Coogan), Langley is living in Edinburgh and is bored after being denied a promotion because of her illness.
When she attends a performance of Shakespeare’s play Richard III, her life changes completely when she becomes possessed like a murderer and usurper by the character – literally to the point where she speaks to her spirit. Langley then scoured bookshops to devour any works devoted to the sovereign, the last of the Plantagenets, who reigned from 1483 to 1485 and whose death marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.
“The Lost King” ties in with the basic plot of “Philomena”, a woman discovers a secret at the end of an investigation, but here without any real connection to the character. Langley will be at the origin of the exhumation of Richard III’s remains, which lay hidden under a parking lot for years, but his role will be forgotten by researchers and academics who will undertake the discovery on their own.
Certainly, as in all her roles, Sally Hawking is extremely lively and convincing, but that’s not enough to stick with an nevertheless unusual story. Is it the fault of Stephen Frears and the screenwriters who insist on constantly inserting the ghost of Richard III? Or does the feature film simply lack clout?
The Lost King hits theaters March 31st at the Cinéma du Musée de Montréal