King, The

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

The King's perception of religion is hardly friendly, but it's only one aspect of a terrific drama, one that ultimately admits that people can be as much of a terrifying mystery as their creator.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

William Hurt can be so subterranean we don't know where he's tunneling. Here he seems to be one thing while becoming its opposite.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

May strain credulity, but it still leaves a memorable mark.

Empire Damon Wise

A compelling, intelligent and provocative sins-of-the-father story with a terrific ensemble cast, and a standout Mr. Ripley turn by the ever-versatile Gael García Bernal.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

It's as good as anything that Hurt has ever done -- a study in explosive understatement.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

The first-time director, James Marsh, and his co-writer Milo Addica (who wrote "Monster's Ball"), sustain a black-comic tone, and the performances, as far they go, are quietly chilling.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Surely among the darkest-themed movies ever made.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Along with its allegorical elements, The King is also impressively specific in naturalistic detail.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Behind the sad and vulnerable eyes of Bernal's damaged Elvis is both a fierce rage and a desperate need for his father's recognition, but he's more enigma than person. Hurt is more nuanced as the sincerely spiritual man faced with a past that threatens his family and his future.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Dark, disturbing and audaciously original in a way only indies are given license to be anymore, the film never telegraphs where it's heading. But you don't need a pathfinder to sense the general direction is toward hell.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Has William Hurt ever been this perfectly cast? He uses his groggy self-importance to make the pastor the victim of evil and the very fount of it.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

A dark and deeply unsettling movie with its roots in classical tragedy.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

The film survives on a thick diet of genuine acting moments...Probably no other actor (Hurt) standing today could've brought this much juice to such a potentially simplistic character.

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

Beautifully shot and well acted, the film might well cause controversy among fundamentalist believers as a provocative allegory challenging the power of faith.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

The King feels like a morality play without any morals.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The King simply unsettles and bothers us -- and it finally misses both the true terror and the twisted redemption it needs for its wicked song, a would-be "Heartbreak Hotel" of horror, to really chill our spines.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Were there more meat on the bones of this fable about hypocrisy and spiritual hollowness, Marsh's pacing might seem deliberate rather then merely slow.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

Compelling and exasperating in pretty much equal doses.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

By all accounts, Marsh has absorbed classic crazy-killer thrillers like "Psycho," "The Night of the Hunter" and "Badlands," but The King isn't likely to join such esteemed company.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Just about the only way to make sense of the film is to view its Christian family the way that the director, James Marsh, does -- with a contempt masquerading as social criticism. William Hurt, for one, deserves better.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A darkly disturbing melodrama anchored by some powerful performances.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Fitfully engaging, finally exasperating.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

In James Marsh's The King, the usually wonderful Gael Garcia Bernal is all wrong for the role of Elvis Valderez.

Austin Chronicle Brian Clark

The most frustrating films are the ones that reach desperately for something great, but fall just short of capturing it. In his dark and twisted narrative debut, The King, British director James Marsh's reach extends so far we can hear his muscles strain, yet what he's reaching for is never quite clear.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Marsh and cowriter Milo Addica (Monster's Ball) strive for gothic tragedy as they unbuckle the Bible Belt, but despite some credible performances (Hurt is especially interesting) the effort feels willful.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Director and co-writer James Marsh clearly thinks he has made a grim and telling satire about fundamentalist hypocrisy. But he and co-writer Milo Addica display such contempt for their characters and religious conviction in general, they reduce everything to one-note banality.

Variety Todd McCarthy

The story of a veritable devil who comes to test and destroy a family of faith, The King is a noxious film morally and an aggravating one dramatically.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

A lurid, overheated Southern Gothic that wallows in its own unpleasantness.

New York Post Kyle Smith

There is no tragedy without character, yet the way The King drapes heavy situations around its feebly imagined personalities suggests a tire thrown around the neck of a poodle.