The King

The meek shall inherit the earth, unless they take it for themselves. "The King" compacts a whole lot of biblical allusions with the story of sins of the father returning in the form of the prodigal son. When this son is rejected, he takes all he can. This is a decent Southern gothic tale with a good cast. It would be a terrific movie if the plot didn't seem so one-note and the characters were a little more believable.

Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal) has just finished his term in the navy. The first thing that he does is seek out his biological father. However, his father, Dave Sandow (William Hurt), is now a pastor in a community church with a legitimate family who wants no reminder of his troubled past. Elvis, having been turned away, does not stay away as he goes on to romance Sandow's daughter Malerie (Pell James). When they get caught by Sandow's son Paul (Paul Dano), Elvis fatally stabs him and hides the body. With his son gone, Sandow believes that he must accept Elvis to make up for his past sins. When Malerie gets pregnant, it appears that his past will reap more and more of his present.

After the first series of events, the movie becomes very predictable. Its disturbing subject matter entertains, but doesn't make up for its lack of forward motion. Hurt and Bernal are both fantastic actors, but the distaste their characters cause is never satiated. There is not much of a catharsis, so the bitterness feels unrelenting. The film's lack of mobility makes its scathing view of repentance fail to hit a strong chord with the audience. This movie is delightfully dark, but doesn't fulfill the biblically proportioned goal it sets out to.