Manager: Stephen Frears
artists: Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd, Mark Addy
Year: 2022
Premiere: May 5, 2023
★★
The figure of Richard III, long demonized for centuries, has undergone a rehabilitation in recent years, and Stephen Frears’ new film echoes that shift. The work honors British director Philippa Langley, the woman who became obsessed with the king and started a Quixote-like quest to uncover his tomb, ultimately discovering his remains beneath a parking lot.
Centered on Langley’s research and her efforts to finance the excavation, The Lost King reads less like a conventional thriller and more like a blend of procedural drama and psychological exploration. Langley’s pursuit becomes a lens through which questions about recognition and memory are posed, especially for women who have often been overlooked in historical narratives.
Indeed, the movie wins its intrigue through a plot built around academic presentations, grant applications, and permitting hurdles. Yet it risks getting weighed down by scenes of Langley addressing the specter of Richard III, with a tonal balance that shifts between humor and melancholy and a sense of conceptual tension that never fully lands.
The film showcases ordinary people stepping into the spotlight, while also spotlighting figures of power tied to monarchy and lineage. It probes the tension between democratic agency and the aura of divine-right rule that has long shaped perceptions of royal authority. Frears invites viewers to consider how those dynamics influence both public memory and personal motivation, without offering easy answers.
In its quieter moments, the film emphasizes the collaborative nature of the discovery, the persistence required to champion an unconventional research project, and the emotional weight carried by those who believe in a historical mystery’s worth. The result is a story that feels human, imperfect, and ultimately hopeful about the power of determined individuals to rewrite a fragment of the past for future generations [Langley, 2013].