海角大神

Are you one of those people who thinks King Richard III was unfairly maligned by history? Do you blame Shakespeare鈥檚 play for propagating Tudor propaganda? 聽

If so, this puts you squarely in the good graces of Philippa Langley, the real-life British heroine of 鈥淭he Lost King.鈥� She is the amateur sleuth whose dogged crusade to rehabilitate the reputation of the last of the Plantagenets led not only to a reassessment of Richard鈥檚 renown but also, in the film鈥檚 (so to speak) crowning moment, to the discovery in 2012 of his gravesite beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England. 聽

With this much thematic and historical richness going for it, 鈥淭he Lost King,鈥� directed by Stephen Frears and co-written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, ought to be better than it is. Frears has made many marvelous movies, including 鈥淢y Beautiful Laundrette,鈥� 鈥淭he Queen,鈥� and 鈥淧hilomena鈥� (also co-written by Coogan and Pope), but 鈥淭he Lost King鈥� often seems distinctly underpowered.聽

But it has one big thing in its favor: Sally Hawkins鈥� performance as Langley. She鈥檚 perfectly cast, which, as a general rule, does not always translate into a perfect performance. Not so here.

We first encounter Langley living a life of humdrum unhappiness. She is dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome, has a thankless job in marketing and advertising, and shares the care of her two young sons with her indulgent ex-husband, John (Coogan). After seeing a production of Shakespeare鈥檚 play, she promptly buys eight historical books on the king and becomes firmly convinced he was not remotely a villain. He did not usurp the throne or fatally dispatch his two nephews in the Tower of London. It鈥檚 not even clear if he had a hunchback.

The film connects Richard鈥檚 infirmity with Langley鈥檚 own physical challenges. She rages at the notion that a person鈥檚 outward aspect is a mirror of their inner soul. A twisted spine is not the same thing as a twisted personality.

This psychological correspondence between the king and his fiercest advocate sounds simplistic, but Hawkins never makes you doubt its verity. It鈥檚 to her great credit that Hawkins portrays Langley鈥檚 obsessiveness in ways that are not always flattering to the character. In so doing, she undercuts the facile sentimentalizing that could have sunk her portrayal. There鈥檚 a lovely, telling moment when Langley joins a local branch of the Richard III Society 鈥� fellow true believers in the king鈥檚 innocence. One of its many eccentric members remarks that she looks so 鈥渘ormal.鈥� She gently but emphatically replies that no, she is not.

Given how complex Hawkins鈥� performance is, it鈥檚 an unnecessary conceit for the filmmakers to saddle Langley with periodic dreamlike visitations from Richard, played by the actor (Harry Lloyd) she saw on the stage. A handsome, mute figure, he shows up in her backyard, or on horseback, or sitting beside her on the train. The movie doesn鈥檛 need this filigree of mumbo-jumbo, not when Hawkins is already providing us with everything we need to understand Langley鈥檚 spiritual odyssey. It makes it seem as if the reason she connects with Richard is because she鈥檚 sweet on him.

There鈥檚 also a fair amount of material in the film, perhaps too much, about the battles Langley waged against the sexist, credit-hogging archaeological and academic establishment. These men come across almost as villainized as Richard was in Shakespeare鈥檚 play. And perhaps the filmmakers give Langley too much credit among historians for almost single-handedly salvaging Richard from ignominy. Josephine Tey鈥檚 great 1951 detective novel, 鈥淭he Daughter of Time,鈥� is the classic rescue job.聽

But the film scores where it counts most. Even more so than Richard, Langley is the film鈥檚 true centerpiece. By righting historical wrongs, she wanted to give back to the king his own voice. What she really was searching for was her own voice. She found it.

Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. 鈥淭he Lost King鈥� is rated PG-13 for some strong language and brief suggestive references.