James Fleet Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘The Lost King’ (2022), starring Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd and Mark Addy

August 5, 2023

by Carla Hay

Sally Hawkins in “The Lost King” (Photo courtesy of IFC Films)

“The Lost King” (2022)

Directed by Stephen Frears

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2012, in Scotland and in England, the dramatic film “The Lost King” (based on a true story) features a nearly all-white cast of characters (with a few black people and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An enthusiastic member of the Richard III Society is convinced that Great Britain’s King Richard III was wrongfully accused of crimes and that his remains are buried underneath a parking lot in Leicester, England, but she faces an uphill battle to fund the excavation.

Culture Audience: “The Lost King” will appeal mostly to people who are fans of stars Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan and have an interest in watching predictable but crowd-pleasing history-based dramas.

Harry Lloyd in “The Lost King” (Photo courtesy of IFC Films)

“The Lost King” is the type of movie about an underestimated and persistent person where you know exactly how it’s going to end. This traditionally made drama has a very watchable journey though, mostly because of Sally Hawkins’ engaging lead performance. “The Lost King” is based on a true story, but it has a few fantastical elements, such as main character Philippa Langley talking to her imagined ghost of Great Britain’s King Richard III, who died in 1485, at the age of 32.

Directed by Stephen Frears, “The Lost King” had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope co-wrote the adapted screenplay for “The Lost King,” based on the 2013 non-fiction book “The King’s Grave: The Search for Richard III,” by Philippa Langley and Michael K. Jones. “The Lost King” hits a lot of familiar beats that movies have about underdogs taking on a massive challenge with odds stacked against them. Don’t expect any major surprises in this movie, especially since the outcome of this story is fairly well-known to history buffs.

At the beginning of “The Lost King” (which takes place in 2012), 45-year-old Philippa Langley (played by Sally Hawkins), who lives in Scotland, is stuck in a dead-end sales job in an office. Six employees have been chosen to be on the company’s Super Team of sales people. Philippa is not one of those six people, much to her frustration and disappointment. Philippa has a tense conversation with her bigoted boss Tony (played by Lewis Macleod) in his office about being passed over for this promotion.

Tony says to her, “You are at the right level for you. We both know you’ve had issues.” Philippa replies, “I suffer from chronic fatigue. It’s a real illness. And yet, have I ever missed a deadline?” Tony says, “I thought it was time to give the younger ones a chance to shine.” An insulted Philippa then retorts: “If you want people to be good at being under 40, I will admit, I’m struggling there, but so are you.” And then, she walks out the door.

Philippa and her ex-husband John Langley (played by Coogan) have joint custody of and co-parent their sons Max (played by Adam Robb) and Raife (played by Benjamin Scanlan). Max is about 12 or 13 years old, while Raife is about 10 or 11 years old. When Philippa gripes to John about her job problems, she gives the impression that she’s ready to quit her job. John warns her: “Don’t do anything impetuous. That’s all I ask. We have two households to run. We need your wages too.”

Philippa will soon find something else that will preoccupy her time and her energy. One evening, she asks John to accompany her to a production of William Shakespeare’s play “Richard III,” although this production has renamed it “The Life and Death of Richard III.” Philippa says she doesn’t want to go to the play without another adult with her. John politely declines because he says he has a date with another woman.

At the play, Philippa becomes transfixed and somewhat annoyed with the story because Richard III (played by Harry Lloyd) is presented as a villain who betrayed his country. Philippa is convinced that this play has a historically inaccurate portrayal of King Richard III, who was exiled and died during a battle in 1485. He was 32 years old. Richard III was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and the last British king to die in battle.

King Richard III’s death marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. Henry Tudor, who led the forces that defeated King Richard III, then ascended to the throne to become King Henry VII. For centuries, historians said that King Richard III’s remains were discarded into the River Soar.

After seeing Shakespeare’s version of King Richard’s III’s life, Philippa becomes obsessed with finding out everything she can about King Richard III. She goes to bookstores and libraries for her research. Soon after she begins this research, she starts to have delusional fantasies that King Richard III is following her and talking to her. In her fantasies (which she keeps a secret), King Richard III appears to her looking exactly like he did in the Shakespeare play that she saw.

Philippa eventually joins the Edinburgh branch of the Richard III Society, a group of King Richard III fans who want history to be written to what they believe is the truth: King Richard III was not a traitor but a noble king who was loyal to his country. The Richard III Society also believes that it’s very likely that King Richard III’s remains weren’t thrown into the River Soar but are actually buried on land somewhere in England.

Philippa’s quest to find this unmarked grave becomes the main focus of the rest of the movie. She eventually quits her job, but she doesn’t tell John about it straight away. What she does tell John are her staunch beliefs about King Richard III: “He was a good man. I’m convinced of it.” There’s a change in Philippa when she goes on this quest: She feels a new purpose in her life, which gives her a rush of uplifting motivation and energy that was missing when she was stuck in a job that didn’t appreciate her.

As you can imagine, Philippa experiences major obstacles during her quest. Most historians think she’s mentally ill or very ignorant. At a King Richard III lecture given by historian RR Lawrence (played by Julian Firth), who believes in the historically taught stories about Richard III, Philippa stands up in the audience and challenges RR on his views. She asserts that Richard, during his reign, created a “fairer and more just society.” RR openly mocks her and dismisses her statements.

After the lecture, Philippa meets someone at the venue who is sympathetic to her cause: independent historian/author John Ashdown-Hill (played by James Fleet), who doesn’t have a high opinion of RR, whom he calls a “pompous old queen.” Tom tells Philippa that he’s about to publish the results of his mitochondrial DNA research of King Richard III’s descendants. Tom encourages Philippa to find out where King Richard was buried.

This search leads Philippa to a parking lot in Leicester, England, where she is convinced it’s the burial site of King Richard III. From the years 1250 to 1538, it was the location of Grey Friars Priory, where Philippa firmly believes that King Richard III was buried. (This isn’t spoiler information, since it’s in the movie’s trailer.) In order to get this parking lot excavated, she has to convince local government officials and raise the money for the excavation.

Philippa finds an ally in Richard Buckley (played by Mark Addy), a Leicester University professor. Richard’s deputy is Mathew Morris (played by Alasdair Hankinson), who also takes an interest in this project. As already shown in “The Lost King” trailer, the excavation takes place. The movie shows that Philippa got excavation money, partially through crowdfunding (she launches a website called Looking for Richard to get donations) and partially from Leicester Promotions leader Martin Peters (played by Ian Dunn), who sees it as an opportunity to get publicity for himself and Leicester Promotions.

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Philippa comes dangerously close to losing funding at least once. She also experiences constant sexism from people who think she’s a bizarre woman who’s making a fool out of herself with this mission. She gets a lot of scrutiny in the media—some of it positive, some of it negative. One of her biggest skeptics is Leicester University director of corporate affairs Richard Taylor (played by Lee Ingleby), a sneering bureaucrat who doesn’t even try to hide his condescension to Philippa.

Through it all, Hawkins portrays Philippa with a plucky and determined personality. Does Philippa get discouraged? Does she experience self-doubt? Of course she does. However, since there are no real surprises in this story, Philippa’s low points in her mission also have high points.

Philippa’s obsession takes a toll on her personal life, since John begins to wonder about her mental stability and her ability to be an attentive mother to their sons. John also finds out that Philippa quit her job, so he’s worried about Philippa’s finances. On top of being openly ridiculed by certain people in society, Philippa also has to deal with the perception, even from her own children, that this mission has turned her into someone who’s not a very good mother.

After the first few scenes of Philippa talking to her imaginary King Richard III, viewers of “The Lost King” will decide if they will probably want to continue watching the movie or not. These “talking to an imaginary ghost” scenes tend to get repetitive and don’t add much value to movie, except to make Philippa look even more eccentric than she probably is in real life. Some viewers might find these “imaginary ghost” scenes a turnoff, while others will find these scenes tolerable at worst and charming at best.

Hawkins’ performance is the main thing that holds “The Lost King” together, since the rest of the cast members give serviceable performances. Hawkins tends to play socially awkward misfits in her movies, so she’s not really doing anything that’s a breakthrough, in terms of her role in “The Lost King.” However, “The Lost King” is not trying to be anything that it isn’t: It’s mostly pleasant escapism that has positive messages of perseverance in pursuing a dream, in the midst of naysayers and hostility.

IFC Films released “The Lost King” in select U.S. cinemas on March 24, 2023. The movie was released in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2022.

Review: ‘Blithe Spirit’ (2020), starring Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher and Judi Dench

April 1, 2021

by Carla Hay

Leslie Mann and Dan Stevens in “Blithe Spirit” (Photo courtesy of IFC Films)

“Blithe Spirit” (2020)

Directed by Edward Hall

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1937 in England and briefly in Los Angeles, the comedic film “Blithe Spirit” features a nearly all-white cast of characters (with one black person and a few Indians) representing the middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Struggling with writer’s block, a novelist-turned-screenwriter is haunted by the ghost of his dead ex-wife, who plots to break up his marriage to his current wife.

Culture Audience: “Blithe Spirit” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the Noel Coward play on which the movie is based or the 1945 “Blithe Spirit” movie, but this remake is vastly inferior.

Pictured clockwise, from left to right, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Isla Fisher, Judi Dench, Dan Stevens and Emilia Fox in “Blithe Spirit” (Photo courtesy of IFC Films)

This remake of “Blithe Spirit” is like a meal that seems to have all the right ingredients, but it turns out to be dull and unappealing mush that will leave people with a bad taste in their mouths. Even though this comedic film (based on the Noel Coward play of the same name) has terrific and talented cast members who have done much better work elsewhere, this “Blithe Spirit” movie’s screenwriting and direction fall flat on almost every level. There are some movies that are so bad that they’re entertaining, and there are some movies that are so bad that they’re boring. Unfortunately, this “Blithe Spirit” remake falls into the latter category.

People watching this version of “Blithe Spirit” might already know about the critically acclaimed 1945 movie version of “Blithe Spirit,” directed by David Lean. This remake version of “Blithe Spirit, ” directed by Edward Hall, lacks much of the charm of the 1945 “Blithe Spirit.” The lethargic and simple-minded screenplay of this “Blithe Spirit” remake was written by Nick Morcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth. (Morcroft and Leonard are two of the movie’s producers.)

The actors do the best that they can, but they strain for laughs that are few and far in between in this joyless story of a love triangle gone awry because of a vengeful ghost. In “Blithe Spirit,” which takes place in 1937, the love triangle consists of a writer who has a crumbling marriage to a socialite when he becomes haunted by the spirit of his dead ex-wife, who was his most important muse. The ghost of the ex-wife then causes all sorts of mischief in order for her ex-husband’s current marriage to fail.

In the “Blithe Spirit” remake, the person at the center of the love triangle is also the story’s protagonist: British writer Charles Condomine (played by Dan Stevens) is a successful crime novelist who has been hired by a major movie studio to write his first screenplay, which is based on one of his novels. Charles has been experiencing writer’s block, and he tries to hide his fear that he won’t finish the screenplay on time.

Charles’ loyal and adoring wife Ruth (played by Isla Fisher) tries to be as understanding as possible, but there’s an added layer of pressure for Charles to finish this screenplay: Ruth’s father Henry Mackintosh (played by Simon Kunz) is a high-ranking executive of the movie studio that has commissioned Charles to write the screenplay. Charles is writing a crime drama/thriller movie that the studio hopes to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock (played by Peter Rogers), a master filmmaker of suspenseful movies.

Other “celebrity cameos” in “Blithe Spirit” include appearances from Greta Garbo (played by Stella Stocker), Clark Gable (played by Jaymes Sygrove), filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille (played by Colin Stinton) and notorious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (played by Georgina Rich), with none of these cameos adding much impact to the story. These cameos happen when Charles visits the famed production facility Pinewood Studios in Iver, England, and when he goes to Hollywood.

You can tell already that the “Blithe Spirit” movie remake did not stay true to the original play and movie, which had a small cast of characters and a small number of locations. The “Blithe Spirit” movie remake overstuffs the story with too many characters and jumps around in too many places. It’s as if the filmmakers wanted to distract viewers with a bunch of gimmicky scenes that are new to this “Blithe Spirit” movie remake, as a smokescreen for the sad reality that this movie doesn’t have the verve of the original “Blithe Spirit.”

The vengeful ex-wife who comes back to haunt Charles is his first wife Elvira (played by Leslie Mann), who got divorced from Charles before she died in a horse-jumping competition. Elvira is supposed to be shrewish and seductive, so that when she reappears in Charles’ life, he has a hard time resisting her manipulations. In this “Blithe Spirit” remake, Elvira is American (she was British in the other versions), presumably because Mann, who is American in real life, couldn’t or wouldn’t do a British accent for the movie.

Mann has been typecast in several movies, because she usually plays a character who’s a mild-mannered suburban American mother. Mann has a sing-song tone to her speaking voice that sounds like she could be a kindergarten teacher. And so, movie audiences might find it hard to believe Mann in the role of a spiteful and homicidal ex-wife who doesn’t hesitate to plot the death of her rival Ruth.

The role of Elvira needed to be played by someone who is a more convincing femme fatale but who also has the talent to carry this role with comedic charisma. So although Mann is talented, she is miscast in this role because she doesn’t come across as the least bit dangerous throughout the movie. Stevens portrays Charles as an egotistical, insecure buffoon who won’t find much sympathy with viewers of this movie. Fisher has the most thankless role as Ruth, who’s supposed to be the “good wife,” but even Ruth’s patience gets tested by Charles’ erratic shenanigans.

At the beginning of “Blithe Spirit,” the passion has all but disappeared from Charles and Ruth’s nearly five-year marriage. (Ruth and Charles do not have children together, and neither did Charles and Elvira.) And now, Charles is stressed-out over finishing a screenplay that he has problems even starting. He doesn’t like distractions when he’s writing, so this need for isolation causes even more discontent and alienation in his marriage to Ruth.

Ruth notices Charles’ sullen mood over his writer’s block and says to him: “You’ve been commissioned to write a 90-page screenplay, not ‘War and Peace.’ I don’t see how it can be problematic to adapt a story you’ve already written.”

Ruth continues, “I’m sorry, Charles. I just don’t know how long I can go on like this, with you stuck in an imaginary world and me alone in the real one. I miss you. I miss us.” Charles replies, with a hint of guilt. “So do I.”

This “Blithe Spirit” remake tries to appeal to a modern audience by putting more sex and drugs in the story but without anything that’s too raunchy. Early on in the movie, it’s mentioned that part of the reason why Charles and Ruth’s marriage is faltering is because he has erectile dysfunction. Charles talks about it with his close friend Mr. Bradman (played by Julian Rhind-Tutt), a doctor who gives Charles some benzedrine pills that Bradman says should solve the problem. Charles is hesitant, but Bradman says he’s been taking the same pills and it’s done wonders for his energy and sex life.

And so, Charles takes benzedrine and suddenly has a burst of energy that catches Ruth off guard. He takes her on a bicycle ride in a wooded area and vigorously pedals as if he’s in contestant in a bike race. And later, Ruth is pleasantly surprised to find out that Charles is interested in reviving their sex life, and he’s a more enthusiastic lover than he was in recent months. There’s no explicit sex in the movie, but the sexual activity is either depicted in mild sex scenes or talked about in the story.

With Charles and Ruth’s marriage seemingly back on track to becoming happy again, they go on a double date with Bradman and his wife (played by Emilia Fox) to a theater stage show to see a well-known psychic named Madame Cecily Arcati (played by Judi Dench). The Bradmans don’t have first names in this version of “Blithe Spirit,” but they are called George and Violet in previous versions. Charles doesn’t really take this psychic/fortune teller show seriously and only goes out of slight amusement and curiosity.

Also in the audience are two of Charles and Ruth’s servants: maid Edith (played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and cook Edna (played by Michele Dotrice), who have the cheap seats down below, while the Condomines and the Bradfords have top-tier balcony tickets. Most of what Edith and Edna do in the movie is react to Charles’ increasingly unhinged state of mind the more that Elvira irritates him. Some of the other people who are seen in the Condomine house are the couple’s other friends who are written as vague characters who don’t have much to say and only show up when there’s a house party.

“Blithe Spirit” tries to infuse some slapstick comedy by having Madame Arcati fall from a rope during a levitating trick in front of the audience. This mishap leads to her being exposed as a fraud, which causes an uproar from audience members. Many of the people in the crowd demand refunds. It’s a rather unnecessary scene, unless you were really waiting your whole life to see a movie with a Judi Dench stunt double taking a humiliating tumble on stage.

While all this chaos is going on, Charles sneaks backstage to talk to Madame Arcati in her dressing room. He introduces himself as a crime writer and tells Madame Arcati: “Like me, you occasionally have to employ artistic license to entertain the masses.” Madame Arcati responds with a “poor me” tone of voice when she talks about her audiences: “They expect me to deliver a spectacle, a transcendental miracle, night after night.”

Madame Arcati is embarrassed over her fiasco performance, which caused her to lose money due to all the refunds. Her shame is somewhat alleviated when Charles gives her another job opportunity, albeit a temporary one. Charles asks Madame Arcati to do a private séance at his home. He tells her that he, his wife Ruth and “influential guests” will be attending the séance. Madame Arcati willingly obliges.

Charles is hoping that the séance will inspire ideas for his writing and and possibly help him get over his writer’s block. The Condomines and Bradfords don’t take the séance that seriously until some spooky things start happening. Madame Arcati says that the spirit in the room wants to contact Charles. And then, Madame Arcati convulses and the room’s French windows blow open.

Madame Arcati is visibly shaken when she leaves the house. However, the couples have a laugh over what happened. Ruth and Charles won’t be laughing when they find out that the séance has conjured up the spirit of Elvira, who doesn’t waste time in trying to wreck Charles and Ruth’s marriage. First, Elvira tries to drive Ruth crazy, and then Elvira turns to more devious methods to get Ruth out of Charles’ life.

While all of this is happening, Charles is the only one who can see Elvira’s ghost. And so, much of the contrived comedy in “Blithe Spirit” is about Charles talking to Elvira, but other people think he’s going crazy because he looks like he’s talking to himself. Another scenario that happens frequently is that Charles says something insulting to Elvira, but someone in the room thinks Charles is actually saying the insult to them. Tension and arguments then ensue.

Elvira can be maddening to Charles, but she also inspires him and gives him some of his best ideas. It should come as no surprise that Charles overcomes his writer’s block with Elvira’s help. However, Elvira wants credit for her contributions, and that leads to more conflicts between Charles and Elvira. And that’s apparently an excuse for this cringeworthy line to be in this movie, when Charles utters to Elvira: “What am I supposed to say? That I have a ghost writer?”

Charles has unresolved love/hate feelings toward Elvira, so there’s a lot of back-and-forth over whether or not he wants to save his marriage to Ruth or end it. Elvira makes it clear that she wants Charles all to herself. Does this movie really expect people to believe that Elvira’s can come fully back to life, not just as a vision that only Charles can see?

Yes, it does, because later in the story, Madame Arcati becomes the second person who can see the ghost of Elvira, and she has this declaration about Elivra’s spirit: “If the returning spirit feels welcome, it can gradually become physically substantial.” There are some catty showdowns between the main female characters in the movie, but no real suspense or compelling dialogue.

For example, this is the type of bland comment that Elvira gives when she tries to threaten Madame Arcati: “I’ll haunt you until the day I die!” For someone who’s supposed to be a great writer, Elvira can’t even say things that are very witty, due to the lackluster screenwriting for this movie.

The 1945 movie version of “Blithe Spirit” starred Rex Harrison as Charles Condomine; Constance Cummings as Ruth Condomine; Kay Hammond as Elvira Condomine; and Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati. There was a natural-looking rapport that the actors had with the dialogue that’s missing from this “Blithe Spirit” remake. Oftentimes, the actors in this “Blithe Spirit” remake give little pauses as if they’re expecting it to be filled by a laugh track. And the slapstick comedy in this remake isn’t that special.

This version of “Blithe Spirit” has unnecessary detours in the plot, including Madame Arcati going to the London Spiritual Alliance and asking national director Harry Price (played by James Fleet) for help. He refuses because she’s been suspended from the alliance because of the con job at the theater were the audience demanded refunds. The Harry Price character is an example of a new character that ends up being irrelevant to this story.

Madame Arcati is a widow who lives alone and talks to her dead husband Donald as if he were still alive. Donald is mentioned enough times that you just know that there’s a reason for it in this movie. Madame Arcati is written as a watered-down character that vacillates between being assertive and pathetic. It’s the kind of unchallenging, shallow role that Dench can do in her sleep. Viewers of this monotonous movie might also be put to sleep.

A scene that’s new to the remake is a prank that Elvira plays on Ruth, when Elvira spikes Ruth’s drink with Charles’ benzedrine during a party that the Condomines are having in their home. Ruth has no idea, of course, and she ends up getting high out of her mind, stripping to her underwear in front of the guests, and getting frisky with Charles in the bedroom during the party. There’s some ghostly voyeurism that Elvira has with Ruth and Charles, but it comes across as creepy, not hilarious.

The filmmakers of “Blithe Spirit” clearly wanted to make this a sexier version of the play and original movie, but they also wanted to keep the movie “family friendly.” And so, the result is a comedy that tries to be adult-oriented but is toned down to the point of blandness, in order for it not to be inappropriate for underage children. It’s as wishy-washy as Charles’ decision making in this love triangle.

Adding to the misfires in this version of “Blithe Spirit” is Simon Boswell’s annoying musical score that sounds like it was made for a TV sitcom, not a movie that’s supposed to take place in 1937. The reality is that “Blithe Spirit” is not the type of movie that’s going to appeal to underage kids anyway. And so, if the filmmakers wanted this “Blithe Spirit” to be sexier than previous versions, it should’ve just gone all in with some clever raunchiness and with a better-quality screenplay.

Movie audiences don’t mind remakes/reboots if these remakes/reboots bring a lot of fresh ideas while staying true to some of the basics that the original project had. Sadly for this version of “Blithe Spirit,” it wallows in stale concepts that wouldn’t even past muster in mediocre comedies made for television. It seems as if Charles Condomine’s writer’s block extended to this movie’s screenplay, which is lacking in the spark and wit that made the original “Blithe Spirit” (the play and the movie) such a treat.

IFC Films released “Blithe Spirit” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on February 19, 2021. The movie was released in New Zealand in 2020, and in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2021.