Film - The Lost King

A person who has been judged unfairly in life and never given the opportunity to show their true potential.

Clearly, this sentence uttered in the film can be about Phillipa Langley the woman who spearheaded the campaign to find Richard lll’s body or the King himself.

Phillipa (Sally Hawkins) has ME, is amicably separated from her husband (Steve Coogan) and is looking for adventure. One day, she does what most of us dream about at least once/dozen times in our lives, skips out of a boring day in the office and never looks back. She goes to Richard 111 society meetings, befriends historians and eventually people at Leicester University who all help to make it happen. 

It’s unfathomable that the filmmakers describe Phillipa Langley as ‘ordinary’ and a ‘housewife and mother’ when the film shows her earning a living.  And did Leicester University take credit for the find as is portrayed?

The fact that Phillipa tracked the king down to a car park in Leicester is a much-told story but one that I didn’t follow at the time. Now, I will find it hard to go to this lovely city without imagining the King riding his white horse down the high street. it’s the fantasy element of the film at brings it to life and I loved the conversations between the king and the king finder.

I find Sally Hawkins captivating in every role so it will be rare for me to pass up an opportunity to see her on the screen. I wonder, is it in her contract that she has to wear wonderfully colourful clothes and never greige?

It reminds me of the other (less known) based on a true story film, the Duke. The Lost King is a wonderful watch.

7½/10