Director: David Michôd
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Robert Pattinson, Ben Mendelsohn
Running Time: 140 minutes
Synopsis: In the early 1400s, England's King Henry IV (Ben Mendelsohn) is in ill health and presiding over a fractured nation, including wars with Wales and Scotland. Once he expires, his estranged eldest son Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet) ascends to the throne as Henry V, advised by Sir William Gascoigne (Sean Harris). Henry V strives to achieve peace, but repeated insults from the King of France prompt him to organize an invasion. He recruits his childhood mentor and renowned warrior Sir John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton) to the cause, and on the muddy planes near the French village of Agincourt, the English and French armies meet.
What Works Well: Inspired by actual events as filtered through Shakespeare's Henriad, this is a sombre mud-baked drama of palace intrigue and battlefield exploits. Henry V as a conflicted and flawed reluctant young leader, determined to exert his authority, seeking peace, but forced into war, ensures a rich character focus. He is surrounded by a large cast of palace occupants, most of them looking after their own interest, with only Sir John Falstaff providing trustworthy presence. When the time comes for armies to clash, director David Michôd forgoes glamour in favour of bone-crunching and suffocatingly chaotic brutality.
What Does Not Work As Well: The mood is unfailingly grim, as if the characters already knew they were living in medieval times devoid of joy. Given the long running length, Gascoigne, the French Dauphin (Robert Pattinson), and Catherine of Valois (Lily-Rose Depp) could have benefitted from more texture.
Key Quote:
Sir John Falstaff: I speak only when there's something to be said. Too often have I seen men of war invent work for themselves - work that leads to nothing but vainglory and slaughtered men. I'm not that man.
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