THE LOST KING (2022)

What a genre-shifting chamaeleon Stephen Frears has been over six decades of directing.  Solid, occasionally inspired*, unfazed by any story form.  Here, he’s mostly solid which turns out to be just the thing for this minor, if seriously likable pic about its real-life subject (and co-author) Philippa Langley, a British office drudge, passed over for promotion, turned Kingly sleuth on the mystery of Richard III, his sullied rep by the usurping Tudors and the physical whereabouts of his remains.  Co-written & co-starring Steve Coogan, as her friendly/supporting ex-husband, Sally Hawkins plays Langley as a bundle of nervous energy with health issues, but a bloodhound at tracking down clues, historical markers, collegiate partners and fund-raising opportunities.  Someone had the idea of sending in Richard himself as a sort of guiding avatar for Hawkins to bounce ideas off of, a tricky proposition that works since Frears knows just when to push coincidence & absurdity, and when to ease off on the uplift elements.  Pretty much a directorial paradigm for this sort of underdog-shows-up-the-experts thing.  The script, on the other hand, a bit of a setup.  Defending Richard at this late date hardly the outlier proposition shown .  Restoration of his actions and character going back, at least, to Josephine Tey’s THE DAUGHTER OF TIME, published in 1951, and having long gained traction in historical circles.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY/LINK:  Yet, the ironic note to this story is that we remember Richard III more than, say, Richard II (reign: 1377 - 1399), because of his Tudor generated bad reputation, as delineated by Shakespeare.  Here’s the legendary evil Richard in an excerpt from THE SHOW OF SHOWS/’29 (originally in 2-strip TechniColor) with John Barrymore recreating his brief B’way triumph.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOcFMW4zdmA

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *What is inspired are the opening credits which for some unknown, if happy, reason are done a la Saul Bass, specifically the distinctive graphics he used for Alfred Hitchcock in NORTH BY NORTHWEST/’59.  Here, abetted by composer Alexandre Desplat who goes all Bernard Herrmann in his music cue.