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The King (15)

May 26 2006 By Graham Young, Birmingham Mail

DIRECTED and co-written by 33-year-old Truro-born James Marsh, this is one of the most compelling dramas of the year - even though the characters' actions don't always make sense.

Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien) plays Elvis, newly discharged from the Navy and in Texas to search for the father he's never met (William Hurt).

The atmosphere owes much to Badlands, with Marsh propelling the characters through a series of conflicts engineered by Elvis.

Deer lovers in particular should stay well clear of a film that should have been an 18, such is its capacity to be horrendously violent and unpleasant.

But, as a warning lesson about parents not taking their responsibilities seriously, the tension is palpable throughout the 105 minutes in which the camera has a lot more to say than the script.

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