Robert Pattinson, once again, shows that he just might be the finest actor of his generation with a brave and crazy performance as the Dauphin of France, Reno Reviews
I’m very late with putting this together as I was overseas when The King premiered in Venice and so I missed posting the initial reactions. But as usual I like to roundup reviews that focus on Rob’s performance – so here it is a tad late but as they say better late than never. Note: there are a few in The Cruel that actually praise Rob but overall thought he was miscast.
THE COOL
A snippet of a devilishly chic inspired performance from Robert Pattinson injects several larger layers to the proceedings, even if his accent will come under particular scrutiny. However, he is drastically underused…
The son of the Daphine, for instance, is played with considerable camp by Robert Pattinson. … Pattinson’s attempts to rectify this by using an affectatious French accent are amicable enough but they are played for rather questionable laughs.
Robert Pattinson steals the show.
Fotogramas (Spain) (Venice FF)
With the years, Pattinson has proven to be a brilliant blank page on which the most disparate directors outline characters of all stripes and backgrounds. This time Pattinson indulges in one of his feasts of histrionics, facing his enemies with a sibylline evil, always bordering on cruelty. A new proof of the chameleonic character of an actor who still has a lot to tell.
Evening Standard (UK) (Venice FF)
As his rival, the Dauphin, Robert Pattinson is preposterously fabulously pert and camp, a hoot every moment he’s on screen.
If you enjoy your period epics with a touch of camp, Pattinson’s gleeful turn as this bitchy Frenchman should bring you plenty of joy; each comic appearance adds a moment of lightness to the gravity of Michôd’s film.
BBC Culture (Venice Film Festival)
The film’s liveliest scenes come when the army reaches France, and Robert Pattinson camps it up as the ludicrously evil Dauphin.
One Room with a View (Venice FF)
…and Robert Pattinson threatens to steal the show in a few hilarious scenes, charmingly mangling English as a second language as the Dauphin of France.
And then there’s Robert Pattinson, matinee idol of a half-generation ago, who shows up for a few scenes as the sneering, lewd dauphin of France. He’s got a riotous wig and a French waiter from The Simpsons accent (say chowder!) that had the Europeans in my audience hooting with laughter. (I couldn’t quite tell if they were irked or amused.) It’s a delightfully ridiculous performance in a movie that otherwise takes itself very seriously.
Pattinson’s glorified cameo (and glorious comic relief) steals the movie from the clutches of tedium.
… a wonderfully animated Robert Pattinson… Pattinson is having the most fun and like a French (ridiculously) accented Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he seems to exist in another film altogether.
And he knows how to fold in a few comic touches without breaking the mood: Robert Pattinson shows up as a haughty Dauphin, leering at our young King Hal through a haze of condescension.
with a deliciously nasty turn from Robert Pattinson.
…embodied by a riotous Robert Pattinson as the preening, Engleesh-taunting Dauphin …
…even as the Dauphin is revealed to be an arrogant clown on his own power trip. Pattinson’s flamboyance in the role also gooses the movie just when it needs a fresh shot of adrenaline.
Robert Pattinson gives arguably the most entertaining performance of the entire movie as the utterly ridiculous Dauphin of France, appearing intermittently to pout and insult Henry in an atrocious French accent.
Pattinson pops in this role
Edgerton, incidentally, has never been looser or more relaxed on screen, and neither has Robert Pattinson, who plays the Dauphin of France like a skeevy Eurotrash lounge lizard.
Edgerton, incidentally, has never been looser or more relaxed on screen, and neither has Robert Pattinson, who plays the Dauphin of France like a skeevy Eurotrash lounge lizard. Between Chalamet’s appropriate seriousness as a monarch under fire and the various conspiracies and agendas amongst the king’s counselors, both Edgerton and Pattinson provide necessary comic relief, even though both of their characters are capable of battlefield savagery.
It’s only near the end that he find a spiritual cousin of sorts in Robert Pattinson’s pouting French dauphin, who is constantly pushing his blond locks from his face.
It may be too easy to highlight Pattinson’s wildly entertaining glory-hog performance — he appears in but a handful of (stolen) scenes, and leaves a distinct impression. He distills all the haughty villainy of a cartoon caricature of a French nobleman and smudges it with a little deadly sociopathy. It’s some thick and rich ham gravy.
..while Robert Pattinson playfully injects wickedness at just the right moment as the Dauphin of France … Henry is taunted into war by the Dauphin of France played with wickedness by Robert Pattinson whose appearance gives the film a shot of adrenaline as it moves towards the Battle of Agincourt finale.
The only laughs in the film’s 140 minutes are provided by Robert Pattinson, the “Twilight†veteran and future Batman milking his turn as the French dauphin (prince) who taunts Henry, goads him into battle and slings a wicked French accent during his many atrocities and insults. … His trash talk-threats are the best lines in this Michôd (“Animal Kingdom,†“The Roverâ€) and Edgerton script…. Pattinson is more fun than Chalamet, and more instantly credible, I have to say. None of this pop idol mop top and chicken-chested machismo that Chalamet brings to the young king.
Robert Pattinson’s gloriously over-the-top French Dauphin.
Pattinson inhabits that character with every nerve in his body.
The King is a rather demanding period drama that is given a necessary jolt of adrenaline by a truly anarchic Robert Pattinson performance. In different circumstances, Pattinson’s three-scene appearance could be mistaken for deliberate sabotage, but it’s easily the highlight of what is otherwise an extremely self-serious movie. … Timothée Chalamet’s college dropout-turned-tech billionaire interpretation of a classic Shakespearean character is vastly overshadowed by Pattinson’s Pepe Le Pew take on The Dauphin. Both are inspired choices, miraculously championed by Michôd.
It’s Robert Pattinson who injects some energy into the proceedings as The Dauphin of France, gleefully chewing scenery with an over-the-top accent. It’s an approach that won’t work for everyone, but it’s definitely one of the most memorable elements of The King.
The King might fully put you to sleep, Robert Pattinson shows up. Suddenly, a drab, medieval, wannabe epic is the comedy of the year. Pattinson plays the Dauphin of France, who challenges Timothée Chalamet’s young Henry V. … At one point, he does some impressive physical comedy, slipping and falling in some wet mud during a pivotal confrontation. Pattinson is the only person in this film who seems to remember that Shakespeare, actually, can be very funny.
The Dauphin of France, played by a deliciously evil Robert Pattinson, who taunts King Henry V at every chance he has would be a great film villain if he were given the time and attention needed to develop.
…although Pattinson hams it up so much that I’m at least glad my man enjoyed himself during filming. … And Pattinson’s ludicrousness feels purposeful: He’s working an accent like he’s Gambit from the X-Men, slouching in his throne like he owns all of France, and mocking Hal’s penis size. It’s such a tonal shift from the dryness of the other performances, and I treasured it. Compared with the rest of The King, which suffers from a rejection of Shakespeare’s lyrical language and reorganized character motivations, at least Pattinson is having some fun.
… but it is Adam Arkapaw’s widescreen cinematography, with its muted colors, that captures the mood. … (and room for a little levity with the postscript on Pattinson’s pathetic last-minute intrusion).
…and Robert Pattinson, entertainingly obnoxious as the arrogant and sarcastic Dauphin of France.
There were other memorable performances but I have to give the biggest shout to Robert Pattinson, who plays the annoying French prince, the Dauphin. He was unapologetic in his over the top portrayal as an overly-confident young royal. Pattinson was so good, that I actually believe he might be able to pull off his upcoming role as Bruce Wayne in the next DC film.
Pattinson – drinking heavily from Monty Python’s Holy Grail – plays Prince Louis of France aka The Dauphin, a son of King Charles, and Henry’s rival in the climactic Battle of Agincourt. … Somewhere between Chalamet’s solemn commitment and Pattinson’s overt silliness there’s an impeccably well made film …
Dennis Schwarz’s Movie Reviews
The scheming, sinister, overdressed in frills French dauphin is slyly played by the Englishman Robert Pattinson, but with a not too believable heavy French accent that gives one pause for unintentional laughter.
Thank God, at least, for Robert Pattinson. He saunters in midway through as the Dauphin of France, sporting an insolent smirk and spitting florid insults in a French accent so thick it borders on the comical. He feels jarringly out of place in The King, as if lifted in from another, much more entertaining movie — and while he’s onscreen, The King stirs awake.
Robert Pattinson, once again, shows that he just might be the finest actor of his generation with a brave and crazy performance as the Dauphin of France. Simply put, Pattinson’s accent in this movie is one of the greatest things I’ve witnessed in a movie this year, as is his final stunt in full armor.
Pattinson as a marvellously camp Dauphin…This is one of the strongest pictures of the year.
Robert Pattinson’s performance manages to add some life to the film, even if his role is completely secluded to the comedic tone the film takes on as it progresses. His character is supposed to be ridiculous, and he performs that beat to the fullest …
The News International (Pakistan)
Pattinson, too, gives a standout performance as the Dauphin, even though he appears in only a handful of scenes, and also gets some of the most memorable lines in the script.
… Pattinson dominates their scenes… Pattinson adds quirky humour to a film that’s otherwise rather po-faced. His accent is extraordinary, but it becomes clear why, when he and Henry talk before the battle. The Dauphin wants to talk in English he says, before belittling it as an easy and ugly language. Suddenly his exaggerated accent is shown for what it is – mockery of his opponent.
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Almost everything about The King works brilliantly, from the casting (not least Robert Pattinson as a deliciously detestable Dauphin) to the generally cracking script by Michôd and Edgerton, and to the thoroughly brutal and elegiac fight and battle scenes.
The only one who fully circumvents these obstacles is Robert Pattinson , who achieves the task without even giving his best performance, but because he obviously has fun with his risky, but wise decision to break the Shakespearean formalisms to turn the French dolphin into a mysterious fictional villain. An enjoyment so intense that it even becomes contagious and refreshing.
However, nobody can prepare him for the appearance of Robert Pattinson (High Life, The Lighthouse) as the French prince Dauphin, who loses the patience of the new King and offers a show that, at first glance, seems to come from a parallel world . The somber and serious tone is completely overwhelmed by Pattinson’s pleasant and provocative performance.
Pattinson doesn’t have a lot of screen time, but he sure makes the most of it, providing a pitch-perfect corporeal adversary for Hal to overcome while, at the same time, Hal battles the corrupting forces slowly seizing control of his heart.
… and whatever it is that Pattinson is doing as the Dauphin (the film could have used more of his bizarro energy).
Chalamet and Pattinson do all they can, and they give fine performances …
Peppered with cameos from the likes of Robert Pattinson (a ripe jambon as the Dauphin)
..5he Dauphin (a gleefully animated Robert Pattinson). … Meanwhile Pattinson seems to be soaking up the spotlight as a ridiculously accented French who plays it as if the character belongs on Saturday Night Live.
Then, in bursts Robert Pattinson as France’s Dauphin, a breath of fresh air with a hilariously thick French accent and great delivery of penis jokes. Though absolutely out of sync with the rest of the film, his couple of brief appearances only emphasise how suffocating The King feels. Maybe he just walked in from an alternate universe where this film is enjoyable.
The only real scenery-chewing comes, appropriately, from Robert Pattinson as the movie’s big villain, the sniveling, evil Dauphin, prince of France. This approach is just right as Pattinson doesn’t shy away from delivering us a truly detestable baddie, and one you can’t wait to see get his violent comeuppance.
Qiibo (Spanish)
Robert Pattinson, stealing all his scenes…On the other hand, Pattinson enjoys playing a reckless Prince, determined to antagonize his opponent in every way possible; from exaggerating his French accent to committing horrible acts. If what we see here is a sample, your Batman will be a true sociopath.
Cinemania (Spain)
…the chameleonic Robert Pattinson , hypnotic in his histrionics, caricature with a French accent on the other side of the battle of Agincourt.
John McDonald | Australian Financial Review
Perhaps I’m wrong to describe the film as “humourless†because there is one outrageous comic turn: Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Henry’s enemy, the Dauphin.
ABC (Australia)
But there’s room for tonal contrast, too, with the arrival of France’s heir apparent, the Dauphin (Robert Pattinson). This florid, almost camp villain is an inspired creation, regardless of what some critics have said since the Venice Film Festival premiere, complaining about cod French accents and over-acting. There’s no on-screen precedent in the film for Pattinson’s performance, it’s true, but this doesn’t make him a problem, in fact he arrives just in time to rescue proceedings from falling into an overly dour, macho costume drama.
Well, there’s one notable exception. Robert Pattinson turns up as the Dauphin of France late in the action, electrifying the material by refusing to take any of it seriously. I’d love to have seen his take on Hal; if nothing else, he’d have been a really fun drunk.
But even better might be Robert Pattinson’s small but memorable appearance as the Dauphin of France. Playing the buffoonish Francophone counterpart to Chalamet’s king, Pattinson’s Dauphin is the Hal that never grows up into Henry. Sporting a truly ridiculous accent and a go-for-broke interpretation of Henry’s foil, Pattinson’s performance is a delightful balancing act of over-the-top ridiculousness. It’s a welcome reprieve in a film that’s nearly too grim for its own good.
Pattinson arrives with much-needed fatuous comic relief as the Dauphin, Henry’s French nemesis. In fact, Pattinson shows up for maybe 15 minutes total and mops the floor with his somber opponent. Chalamet’s frowning seriously cannot compete with Pattinson in full-on ham mode, doing his best Jeanne Moreau impression under a blond mop. His final scene is a scream as Pattinson fully sacrifices his dignity for the biggest laugh imaginable.
When Pattinson is present, The King comes to life. His gleeful interpretation of the preening Dauphin is somewhere between Pepé Le Pew and Cruella de Vil, a character practically begging the audience to throw rotten fruit at him.
It is more likely to be remembered as the film in which Robert Pattinson took his love of perversity to its logical end. … He is hilarious here, rousing in his excess, and so evidently loving the experience that his pleasure is contagious: To watch him deploying troops with a minute flick of the wrist, or flipping his incongruous wig as if he’s posing for a catalogue, is joyful. He has nothing left to prove. He has us at ‘allo.
The film’s big surprise is Robert Pattinson as the son of the French King, the Dauphin, who delights in taunting Hal. Pattinson plays him broadly, slightly campy, with a rich French accent that he pulls off nicely. He’s only in the film for a few scenes, and provides real spark and energy exactly when the film needs it.
Pattinson as The Dauphin of France plays up the part in a mad, quirky, cartoonish manner. He doesn’t have quite enough screen time to establish himself as menacing, but he’s certainly a fascinating addition.
Pattinson is gleefully camp as the grinning, snarky heir to the French throne.
Robert Pattinson’s Dauphin is a marvellous French taunter.
…the Dauphin of France, played by a smirking Robert Pattinson with a blond wig and a goofy accent that distracts but nevertheless entertains.
Robert Pattinson’s ridiculous Dauphin is either a stroke of genius or an homage to ’Allo ’Allo.
Flickering Myth (BFI London FF)
Having said this, Robert Pattinson as the Dauphin lightens the mood rather with his French ‘panto villain’ interpretation. One of the best bits is this Englishman cast as a Frenchman, insisting on speaking English because it is “ugly†with the King of England… played by a native French speaker. There’s been some fixation on Pattinson’s accent, which is not at all bad and somewhat beside the point – he’s made a bold choice with his characterisation (somewhere in line with Monty Python) and it absolutely works.
But the real scene-stealer is teen idol turned indie darling Pattinson, who brings a hefty dose of levity to the film with an outrageously silly yet incredibly menacing performance as the Dauphin of France. It’s a role seemingly unsuited for the typically dour and serious Pattinson. Yet, his casting proves rather masterful and offers another layer to his burgeoning talents…With an exaggerated French accent and a flamboyantly campy demeanour, Pattinson chews every piece of scenery within sight, offering a portrait of a petulant royal who seems to desire war for no reason other than to cure his boredom.
…a hilarious, scene-stealing Robert Pattinson …
Your second reason to watch is Henry’s nemesis, the Dauphin, played by Robert Pattinson. Sporting a long wig and speaking in an exaggerated French accent, Pattinson is a brief oasis of scenery-chewing hilarity in an otherwise humorless film.
Pattinson is truly memorable as The Dauphin — almost outshining Chalamet in their scenes together.
Robert Pattinson (who appeared in Michôd’s The Rover) plays a smaller but absolutely hilarious role that I won’t reveal, although it’s hard to forget it since it’s such a different character for Pattinson.
At least we have Pattinson’s campy French prince, who appears like a demonic Parisian rock star lounging backstage.
But in the freaky sweepstakes, no one comes near Robert Pattinson’s blond dauphin, his glam exhibitionism overwhelming Chalamet’s emo angst. Pattinson’s idea of a snotty Frenchman might owe a lot to John Cleese … but few movies have needed that sort of intentional silliness as much.
Robert Pattinson, on the other hand, is chewing the scenery and having a ball, sporting a ridiculous French accent. Playing the part almost as if he’s a debauched vampire, he’s clearly having fun.
… and Pattinson, as the fantastically camp Dauphin of France, is a master class in Gallic bitchery.
(Robert Pattinson), the flamboyant heir to France’s throne. In the best way, Pattinson acts like he’s auditioning for “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.â€
Robert Pattinson’s impression of a Frenchman in Netflix’s The King is a minor act of war. There’s no other possible interpretation. His post-Twilight career has been fascinating precisely because he’s never been careless in his choices…Which makes his appearance as the Dauphin in David Michod’s revisionist take on Shakespeare’s Henriad plays either a feat of performance art or deliberate trolling, thanks to its Pepe Le Pew tones and “er… how do you say?†laboured hesitancy. … And yet, as a welcome moment of chaos in an otherwise exhaustingly solemn affair, his work is the undeniable highlight of The King.
The real live-wire in this historical epic is Robert Pattinson, who swans around playing the Dauphin with an outrageous French accent and a teasing wit that lifts The King out of the doldrums whenever he’s on screen.
But, just as The King seems doomed to become a series of bleak, muddy battles, Robert Pattinson — who is having a genuinely wild fall movie season — shows up as the blonde-waved Dauphin of France, delivering his lines in a deliciously destabilizing high-pitched French accent that is entirely incongruous with the situation at hand. It’s the breath of fresh air The King needs to get back on track.
This movie badly needs some lightness, and the only person who seems willing to provide it is Robert Pattinson, who pops in for a few scenes as the French Dauphin, a louche fop with a weakness for gold silk and an accent that’s directly descended from Pépé Le Pew. Pattinson is the only one with the guts to go full camp here, in other words, and I for one can only thank him profoundly for his efforts and hope that he brings the same spirit to his forthcoming Batman.
there’s a delightfully hammy Robert Pattinson as the Dauphin Of France
…and finds room for some strong performances, not least Robert Pattinson’s hilariously bitchy Dauphin.
(Robert Pattinson, as the Dauphin, challenges Chalamet to a thespian duel: which heartthrob can out-fey the other in portraying a bold warrior of the Middle Ages? Pattinson wins by a smirk.)
And the film is worth watching for one gesture alone, as the Dauphin (Robert Pattinson)
Pattinson is brilliant as the rambling French asshole. He’s a goofy villain who within minutes of meeting Hal manages to slander the English language (“simple and uglyâ€) like a middle school bully blurting out your-mom jokes to get a reaction, and he sends chills up our spines through appearance alone — a ghost white face with a waterfall of yellow hair oozing from the top. Moreover, he delivers every quick, dotted English line in his intentionally garish French accent. What’s camp, we ask? This performance.
Robert Pattinson’s French accent as the Dauphin – as fun and flamboyant as the rest of his performance is – comes off as a soft-boi version of Pepé Le Pew.
THE CRUEL
After an altogether ludicrous turn by Robert Pattinson as a sneering, foppish Dauphin – his accent very much in the “do-you-‘ave-a-rheum?†tradition
It’s only near the end that he find a spiritual cousin of sorts in Robert Pattinson’s pouting French dauphin, who is constantly pushing his blond locks from his face.
It would be remiss of me not to mention Robert Pattinson’s performance, though I am uncertain as to whether I should applaud him or laugh at him. His French accent does not sound good. … even when he is threatening Henry or remarking on his genitalia, I simply could not take him seriously. It is clear that Pattinson meant to play the role in such a bonkers way, and while his entrance certainly enlivens the tone of the film, it just really feels out of place in the large scheme of things.
In fact, the complete tone-deafness of Robert Pattinson’s showy turn as the the Dauphin of France indicates that Michôd wasn’t keeping the whole thing cohesive, but hey, at least it allowed Pattinson to get weird, if you’re into that (I wasn’t).
But a film where Edgerton is hamming it up, Chalamet is broodingly pouting all over the place and a startling Robert Pattinson is gnawing on the scenery as a foppish blonde French princeling should be a bit more fun – or simply more epic – than this proves to be. The march across France to Agincourt that takes up the final third at times feels like it’s happening in real time. At least Shakespeare sprinkled in a few stirring speeches.
Robert Pattinson’s foppish Dauphin (a rare misstep for the actor), whose ree-deek-ulous French accent brings to mind only fathers smelling of elderberries.
Robert Pattinson’s brief appearance at the end of “The King’s†horseback road trip is a rare showy, but an ultimately ineffective moment.
Things take on a decidedly goofier turn when Robert Pattinson shows up as the taunting French Dauphin, his Pepé le Pew accent and blond wig only making his performance more of a jape.
In fact, the only potential bum note in The King is Robert Pattinson’s taunting dauphin. Looking like a terribly aged version of his Twilight character, Pattinson’s accent and threats sound straight out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Robert Pattinson also portrays The Dauphin of France, intentionally putting on the most bizarre French accent and doing everything in his acting arsenal to not be taken seriously. It’s an interesting creative choice but feels like a wasted opportunity in terms of crafting a memorable antagonist.
…unlike Robert Pattinson’s disastrous flouncing as the scheming French Dauphin.
Robert Pattinson makes a bizarre appearance as the Dauphin, speaking English with a memorably ridiculous French accent.
For his part, and through no fault of his own, Pattinson is sadly hugely miscast in the Dauphin part. … The problem isn’t that Pattinson isn’t good in this role, the problem is that in the pursuit of wanting a big name in their movie, the producers have failed to consider that any French actor the same age would have made a much better, and more believable Dauphin.
When Pattinson appears on screen, doing an awful French accent that he may have learnt from watching John Malkovich’s turn as Pascal Sauvage in Johnny English, things take a turn for the worse. His comical role is about as nuanced as Malkovich’s, and thus memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Robert Pattinson, playing the foppish Dauphin, struts into The King like he’s just walked off the set of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It’s all wrong for a project this self-serious, but seeing someone actually make an interpretive choice is a breath of fresh air.
Everything fits into place until Robert Pattinson enters the equation. His interpretation of the Dauphin certainly isn’t the first pantomimic take on the monarchy, but from the second a few words escape his lips in an over-exaggerated and unrealistic drawl, cloaked in an awful French accent, it’s impossible to pay attention to the stakes established by anyone else.
Lost in Translation
- Clarin (Spanish)
