Review of The Lost King, directed by Stephen Frears

There was a point in high school where I was obsessed with learning about Richard, who is technically the broader subject of this movie. I was doing Model United Nations at the time, and decided that I was going to a conference at Johns Hopkins.

At said conference, I was placed in the committee on the War of the Roses. There were two different rooms separated by a divider to represent the two houses, and I was to be Richard Neville. I saw that this dude played both sides when he needed to, and I took that to heart as a roleplayed him. That said, I trolled my committee until they found my notes and executed me.

But I knew about how Richard was eventually found in England by the work of one mighty woman and the team she helped create, and when I saw this film was coming to theaters, I was intrigued.

I wasn’t intrigued enough to actually go and see it when it was in theaters, as it looked a tad corny, but when I saw the film had been on Kanopy for a bit, I decided to go ahead and watch it. And that was how I spent a rainy Wednesday morning instead of doing my homework.

Let’s get into the review!

One dedicated woman leads the search for the remains of Richard III.

Our main character in this movie is Philippa, who lives in Edinburgh with her two sons. One day, she goes into work and discovers she lost a promotion she majorly deserved, and when she realizes why, she lashes out. Turns out the person who won was a woman a lot younger and better looking, despite having less experience and not being as qualified as Philippa.

Philippa goes to her boss about it and confronts him about the fact she really deserved this, and then she reveals that her chronic illness hasn’t made her fall behind at work. But that does nothing, as her boss denies the fact he was picking someone less suited than her.

She goes home, where her ex-husband tells her to keep the job. Turns out times are tough, and they have two teenage boys to feed every day. Philippa blows off steam by going to a production of Richard III, but becomes captivated with the doomed king’s story.

His situation where he is dubbed as one way by history she sees as unjust, and not long after seeing the play, she begins having visions of Richard appearing before her. Philippa goes off to find books about him, then discovers the Richard III Society, who adamantly insist Richard was smeared by the Tudors.

This inspires Philippa to quit her job, and start talking with the Richard III who appears in front of her during visions. She starts throwing herself into research, and doesn’t inform her ex-husband about what she is doing. But among the books, she realizes that Richard might be somewhere specific in Leicester.

So she ventures out to the city to attend a lecture, lying to her ex-husband by saying it’s a work trip. There, she meets Dr. Ashdown-Hill, who also is deep in this kind of research, and he informs her to look in big, open spaces because of the customs of building over certain structures.

Philippa wanders the city, and stops in a parking lot. She looks down, and sees a massive R at her feet. The guy there tells her it just means reserved, but she sees this as a sign. Her ex-husband, at home, calls her work and realizes she was lying, so when she returns home, she comes clean to him.

The next step is to find funding. She reaches out to the University of Leicester, specifically Richard Buckley, but she is initially dismissed. He comes back to her eventually, agreeing to do this, and they look at old maps and realize where the shrine may be. Turns out Philippa’s “R” may have been right.

They go to the Leicester City Council, who gives funding then withdraws it. The Richard III Society helps her crowd fund the money to dig three trenches, and the work begins. The dig is unsuccessful at first, but when a body is found underneath the R spot, everyone dismisses it except for Philippa.

She can’t stop thinking about it though, despite everyone dismissing her. She gains her courage, telling off the university people who are taking credit for all of this, and then she demands everyone focus on the skeleton from the R spot. The osteologist on site looks at it, and they realize it might actually be Richard III because of the curved spine and smashed skull.

The dig is deemed a success, but Philippa is left out of the credit by the university. Buckley is given an honorary doctorate, and he, too, seems to forget about her. Philippa sees the apparition of Richard one last time, then she sees the actor from the play she saw.

The credits then tell us she was acknowledged for her work later.

Overall Thoughts

While I find the subject of the movie to be completely and utterly fascinating, I do believe that some movies should not be movies. The acting in this one is solid, but the plot is not compelling.

Sure, we love underdog stories. Especially when they’re women, or people looked down on by mainstream society. It’s also a feel good movie, but if you’re not into the subject, tough luck. This’ll be hard to watch.

It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m sure someone else out there loves this. And that’s okay—we don’t have to have the same taste at the end of the day.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.