Just so...so bad

An Exercise In Nonsense

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It might be easy to confuse the effectiveness of this movie with the actors' performances. I find that script or editing is generally a culprit when things don't work well, and that may be the case here. The story line, as it's presented, feels disconnected from scene to scene. This is particularly true in the very last scene, which doesn't give us a any information whatsoever about how the King winds up in the condition he's in; we are left to make assumptions. But perhaps it doesn't matter how the king ended up as he did. Alex Corti, director, may only have wanted us to be aware that the King played out a wildly descriptive metaphor for the psychological condition that plagued him throughout the movie. The end makes sense, metaphorically. This is a significant film for Timothy Dalton because his acting is virtually devoid of posturing and hyperbole. I'm struck again and again at how authentic are his reactions, given his grasp of the King's dysfunction. Perhaps because of the story, or the expectations of the director, Dalton seems instinctively aware of the King's passion, obsessive focus and possessiveness. We don't know Dalton in his private life, but I find him most effective when he takes on characters of a dark and threatening nature. I don't think he makes one false step in this movie, which is saying a lot. Of all his films that I've seen, this one--while very dark and difficult to watch for its unrelenting obsession and depressive qualities--is his most authentic; his most believable. Over and above his performance, I don't agree with the other reviewer that Valeri Golino gives us a wooden performance with no nuance. She demonstrates early on that her character is given to spontaneous, unguarded passions; that she is naive to political protocol. Indeed, we see these qualities mature into calculated vengeance, when she has been mortally wounded by the betrayal of her husband and family, at which point she becomes ruthless--as abused victims often are, in the face of too early or horrific a trauma in their lives. She figures out how to play the game to her advantage, and given her natural eccentricity, such a discovery makes her the most dangerous player in the film. At no time, even when she is resisting/ignoring the Kings' advances, do I doubt her wild and iconoclastic streak, which says everything about Golino's performance. Indeed, the King's obsession with her seems a completely natural outgrowth of his admiration for her ability to flaunt protocol, and her intelligence. I think both performances were excellent. It's the general darkness of the script that makes it difficult to watch, and the strange, ham-handed way the director/editor has of piecing together scenes. This is not an action movie, or even a costume drama. It's a movie about dysfunctional motivations, uses and abuses of power, and in this regard the movie is a rather timeless statement on the psychology of individual and political power. Watch it and decide for yourself. Timothy Dalton and Valeri Golino will not disappoint.

this movie has hit many of life's little dramas we all have around us. it's just like a friend you haven't seen in a long time that's catching you up on the latest news. it is not overly acted. the other title, 'the king's mistress', is more of a front of the store movie name than it is the back room like the original name, 'the king's whore'. but, i believe, 'whore' is the better of the two titles. they all play realistic parts and it's easy to keep up with. the feelings the actors portray seem quite sincere. the life emotions that are brought to the screen make this one of the most involved movies i've seen in years.oh, the 'jane eyre' with timothy in it was more of a play an amateur would put on compared to this movie. the 'jane eyre' with george c. scott and orsen wells were both much better versions.

The best part of sitting through this movie was Timothy Dalton. The worst part was the character he played."The King's Whore" could have been a great movie. It had a lot of good things going for it, but somewhere along the way it got boring. The characters even seemed to get bored and quit trying to carry the script. Or maybe the script just went on too long. Either way, the movie didn't end. It just quit.*May Contain Spoilers* The beginning of the movie was very good. We meet Jean and Charles, the man she marries, and see her meet the king, and the king becoming obsessed with her. She tries to avoid him, to no avail.The king was so obsessed by Jean that he let everything else go, and ends up committing suicide. Jean loses her husband and son, even though the only reason she became the king's mistress was to keep the family in good graces. She ends up alone.The middle of the movie is simply silly.The only redeeming thing in the whole movie is Timothy Dalton in costume. Too bad the character he plays is so lame.

In all FAIRNESS, more than likely, Mr. Dalton accepted this project because it started out as an interesting character study of a King with an Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. And how said disorder can lead a person into becoming a stalker, peeping-tom, and lusting after a woman who refuses to have anything to do with him other than "friendship". However, he does become a more nurturing care-giver than Florence Nightingale, and Sister Kenny combined AFTER the object of affection/obsession contracts SMALLPOX!I truly believe that this flick was supposed to be a real bodice ripper. Y'know, sexcapades in Period Costume, but, then, somehow, it took a diversionary track to "make a statement" about devotion and how "we" are used by those we love and how "we" use those who love us.Waffling between "historical mock-u-drama" and bodice ripper, loaded down with a female lead that gives no more emotionally than a 2x4 plank of lumber, it's no wonder that Mr. Dalton started chewing on the scenery! Mr. Dalton's talent is too good to be wasted in this dreck!In summary, if you love Mr. Dalton's work, you'll find SOMETHING redeemable in this film, (I did even though I'll never get the time I spent watching it back!). Otherwise, rent JANE EYRE, or A LION IN WINTER.