Tropic Sprockets / The Lost King

By Ian Brockway 

Stephen Frears gives an entertaining light touch in The Lost King, a quirky film involving an obsessive and the ghost of Richard III. It is based on a true story.

Philippa (Sally Hawkins) get passed over for a promotion because of her chronic fatigue syndrome. Undaunted, she goes to see the Shakespeare play. Richard the Third, and becomes captivated by the character, who she believes has been unfairly treated in history as an ugly disabled villain. Philippa begins to associate with Richard III, because of her personal experiences.

She joins a kind of Richard III support group in an effort to gain information as to Richard’s grave and whether the king was really hunchbacked. She receives visions and talks to Richard III (Mark Addy), a Royal highness of very few words. He has an uncanny resemblance to Loki of the Marvel universe, specifically Tom Hiddleston. He gives a lot of peering looks as if Phillipa was a strange beetle under a microscope.

Through all the ups and downs, her husband (Steve Coogan) watches over her. The pair is in an open relationship, and they have two kids. 

The film has a jaunty amusing tone almost reminiscent of “Harvey,” given that the people around Philippa question her mental state. Surely Richard III isn’t really there, or is he?

Sally Hawkins is wonderful as the driven historian who just wants the shot to be proven right. This is a kind of historical mystery with light British humor. The intrigue is cozy and somewhat detached, but Hawkins’ driven yet eccentric qualities keep you watching. The film’s finale is suspenseful and surprising, sure to satisfy any member of society from royalty to commoner. 

An added plus is the film’s pro female slant. Philippa is just as daring as the males in her field, the archaeologists John Ashdown-Hill or Roy Andrews. Curiously, one ponders the nature of the truth in watching the film. Was he a violent king who murdered the two children of his predecessor Edward IV? Or was he a passive voyeur who drifts from town to town, staring from a great distance as if one is a mischievous beetle or a curious spirit of air.

Write Ian at [email protected]

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