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Pell James as Malerie, the preacher's daughter who falls for Elvis

By this point, if not well before, you begin to realize that none of these characters are real people. When one of them commits a sudden, unexpected act of violence that seems to come from out of nowhere, it feels less like a natural expression of that character and more like a plot twist imposed on the script so that the writers can take the story to its next scandalous level. What's more, when this person commits certain violent acts, it seems to be because this person is trying to hide something—and yet, after the final fatal cover-up, the first thing this person does is run to someone and, we assume, spill the beans.

The King is directed by James Marsh, a documentarian making his first narrative film, and it has a low-key naturalism that belies the sheer melodrama of the script. The script was co-written by Marsh and Milo Addica, and it bears some striking similarities to Addica's previous screenplays. Like Birth, which starred Cameron Bright as a ten-year-old boy who claims to be the reincarnation of Nicole Kidman's dead husband, The King is about a family whose routine is interrupted by a stranger who asserts a connection with the family's past. And like Monster's Ball, which starred Halle Berry as the widow of a death-row inmate who hooks up with a former prison guard, The King partly concerns a female protagonist who has lost someone close to her, and who does not realize that her new lover—the person filling the void in her life—is in some way responsible for creating that void in the first place.

But The King is ultimately not as interesting or accomplished as those other films. And while I would like to say that it provides a complex, many-shades-of-grey look at the nature of repentance or the consequences of sin, the film's shallowness in certain crucial areas makes it difficult to be so positive. I'm all in favor of warts-and-all depictions of Christians, and generous viewers might be willing to give the most positive spin possible to David's actions (even though his actions often betray a deep insensitivity to the needs of his family). But the closer you look, the more you realize that warts are all this film has to offer.

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1. How does the film depict David and his family? Do they seem believable? Why do you think he hides certain things from them, or reveals family secrets to the entire church before discussing them with his own kin?
   
   
2. When David invites Elvis to move into the house, is he truly being generous? Is he repenting of the way he rebuffed Elvis earlier? Or is he acting purely selfishly, looking for someone to take his other son's place while Paul is away? A bit of both, perhaps?
   
   
3. Is Elvis a credible character? What do you think he wants from David? Do you think the film wants us to believe that David is responsible in any way for what Elvis does, or is? What do you make of Elvis's last words?
   
   
4. What about the scene where David chastises Paul for singing a song about his bad week in church, instead of a song based on the Bible? Does David have a point, and should he have expressed it differently? Is there a place for songs like Paul's?
   
   
5. Note the use of music in this film, especially in scenes depicting David's family life. Is it sincere? Is it ironic? Does Elvis aspire to this life? Does he intend to destroy it?
   
   

The King is rated R for strong sexual activity involving a teen (including some upper nudity), some violence (including stabbing, smothering, arson, and deer hunting) and language.

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© Peter T. Chattaway 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

In The King, a Navy officer named Elvis is discharged, goes home to Corpus Christi, Texas, and seeks out his estranged father. He's not quite prepared for what he finds there. His father (William Hurt) is now a Baptist preacher who isn't interested in letting his parishioners know the truth about his past and his forgotten son. To make matters worse, Elvis is immediately attracted to his father's beautiful daughter—and before long, Elvis is shaking, rattling, and rolling the family's picture-perfect lives.

Yes, once again Christians are portrayed on the big screen as especially rotten individuals.

Mainstream critics are offering mixed reviews.

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