In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley (Sally Hawkins), whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with scepticism by experts and academics. 

 

The Lost King is one of those stories that you half remember from some news bulletin that you saw a few years ago because of the oddity of it all. But as you delve into the story in full, you begin to realise the real achievement that the discovery of the remains of King Richard III truly was. The Lost King is a bright, light, easy to watch film that will intrigue and entertain, anchored by a great performance from Sally Hawkins. 

 

The Lost King follows the events of Philippa Langley’s discovery of King Richard III’s long lost remains. What makes it incredible is that Langley was just an amateur, doing it in her spare time, and going up against an establishment of academic experts. The Lost King would have been a fairly tedious affair, the audience just following someone around as they searched alone for their royal treasure, if it hadn’t been for director Stephen Frears' creative invention. 

 

He has Philippa engage with an imaginary King Richard III played by the wonderful Harry Lloyd. It’s a plot device that works effortlessly and helps to not only further the plot but to help further develop the character of Philippa. 

 

Anyone who has seen Sally Hawkins previous work from The Shape of Water to Paddington will know that she is a supreme talent. And here she brings that same nervous, determined energy to the role, breathing a real life into her character. 

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The Lost King is a bright, light, easy to watch film that will intrigue and entertain, anchored by a great performance from Sally Hawkins.