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On Sally Hawkins

 Stephen Frears finds the best women in cinema, and he invents memorable career-capping roles for these women. Amazingly, he has done this three times: with Anjelica Huston ("The Grifters"), Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), and Judi Dench ("Philomena").


Frears's new film isn't quite on par with his classics, but it's a vehicle for Sally Hawkins, and that's a good thing. Hawkins has been a force of nature in "Happy-Go-Lucky," "Blue Jasmine," and "Spencer" (and really she steals the show in "Spencer"). It's great to see her in a new starring role.

"The Lost King" tells a story about sexism. A woman--Philippa--loses a job to a younger and less qualified colleague. Philippa is unmoored, and in her spare time, she becomes obsessed with Richard III. She decides to learn all she can about this "usurper." (A terrific idea for a movie!)

During her research, Philippa becomes certain that Richard's ashes are not in a river (despite a popular myth); Philippa thinks Richard is a skeleton, and he is buried in a car park. In one gripping scene, Philippa has an old map superimposed on a current map--and she demonstrates that a certain highly intriguing area has been "empty," accessible, for six or seven hundred years. She then fights with dismissive, pompous men to obtain funding for a "dig." When Philippa's geographic theory proves to be true, certain men push Philippa aside, and these men claim credit for something they did not build. 

(Philippa has her revenge. She narrates her own story for interested schoolgirls, and she writes a splashy tell-all book.)

I think the screenwriter--Steve Coogan--had certain ideas after "Philomena." Just pick a story about a strong-willed woman on a crusade, and you have struck gold. But "Philomena" had a protagonist who was maimed by history; the outcome of Philomena's quest has a major impact on Philomena's own life. You don't get this same kind of intensity in "The Lost King." Also, questions arise about Richard III. Okay, it's likely he didn't actually kill his young nephews--but, still, is he really worth celebrating? The film seems to think the answer is yes, but I'm wondering exactly what made Richard III into a paragon (if, indeed, he was a paragon).

Another thing about "Philomena": It had not one, but two, wonderful characters. The joy in the movie was seeing Coogan sparring with Dench. By contrast, "The Lost King" has just one significant "presence"--the Sally Hawkins character--and that's a shame.

Still, it's a weird, entertaining movie! I liked it.
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