THE LOST KING

Director: Stephen Frears

2023, 109min., PG-13

Screenwriter: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope

Cast: Steve Coogan, Sally Hawkins, James Fleet, Harry Lloyd

 

British national treasure Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, Made in Dagenham, The Shape of Water) gives a droll but warm-hearted performance as Philippa Langley, the woman who discovered the burial spot of King Richard III. Living in Edinburgh, she gets no respect either at home or at work, where she is passed over for promotion by “younger, sexier” women. One night, she attends a performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III and strongly identifies with the possibly murderous outcast. When she starts seeing visions of the Lost King, Langley turns detective, determined to find his grave in Leicester where he was killed in battle. But first, she has a battle of her own, against the slew of experts who can’t believe that she could be the one to unravel a centuries-long mystery. Just when we need it, 81-year-old director Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Launderette, The Queen) brings humor and humanity to the big screen. “Sally Hawkins is a gift, to directors and audiences alike!” Jeanette Catsoulis, New York Times.