After seeing a performance of Richard III, Philippa (Sally Hawkins) sets out to find the body of the misunderstood monarch.

The Lost King

Cert - 12, Run-time - 1 hours 48 minutes,

Director - Stephen Frears

If you’ve seen the trailer for The Lost King then it’s very likely that you’ve thought that you’ve seen the whole film. That certainly seems to be the case when watching the 108 minute version, the fact that part of the end result was headline news aside. The part of the story perhaps not as well known comes from the perspective of Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins). Feeling underappreciated at work, when newer, younger employees are given hefty promotions, and inspired by a performance of Richard III she sets out on her own adventure to find the body of the long-deceased monarch.

It’s a mission supported by members of a small society who all claim that the king has been misunderstood and misrepresented for hundreds of years after Tudor propaganda. However, Philippa’s biggest push of inspiration comes in the form of Richard III - looking much like the actor who played him on stage (Harry Lloyd) - who comes to her in visions, pushing her on to potentially find the location of his own body. With this she begins to frequently emphasise the king’s innocence against history’s accusations. Innocent until proven guilty comes up a considerable amount and begins to become quite laboured when overused in a scene.

Even if based on fact there are a handful of elements throughout the film which feel somewhat tenuous. Largely arriving in the form of, what feel like, forced discoveries there’s occasionally a strong feeling of ‘of course’ lingering within particular events and instances. There almost feels to be a layer of obviousness to the film, again perhaps not helped by having seen the trailer. Yet, interest still manages to lie in certain areas such as interactions and conflictions with the University of Leicester, represented by Lee Ingleby’s Richard Taylor.

However, for much of the 108 minute run-time The Lost King feels as if it would be better suited to a 60-minute one-off special. While what we get is watchable enough viewing it feels very padded out with the handful of other angles and views that begin to be brought into play as the film goes on. There may be a couple of chuckles along the way but as a whole the film itself proves to be quite forgettable.

There’s a lot of passion displayed on-screen, particularly from Sally Hawkins’ well-performed central figure, but this doesn’t always make its way from the screen to the audience. It ultimately makes The Lost King something watchable, and fairly amusing with its lighter tone (including when compared to director Stephen Frears’ and screenwriters Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s previous collaboration of Philomena) and occasional humour, for the time that it’s on, but not likely to make a lasting impact.

Jamie Skinner -Three stars