They often say reality is stranger than fiction – it’s a well-worn adage that has reached the point of almost being a cliche, but it is still one that applies in certain cases. In this instance, its the story of Phillipa Langley, the working-class mother who decided to become an amateur historian based on a growing interest in the story of Richard III, which made her one of his most fervent defenders, someone who fought for his place in history and rallied against the centuries-old mythology that surrounds him and supposes that he was a monstrous usurper, arguing that he was misunderstood as a result of William Shakespeare’s famous play, which she (and other Ricardians) view as nothing short of a defamatory work of speculative fiction by one of history’s greatest dramatics, designed to tarnish the reputation for the person they view as hopelessly criticized and accused of entirely unlikely actions. This ultimately led to her attempts to track down the site of his burial, which was surprisingly found in a parking lot somewhere in working-class Leicestershire, where the infamous monarch had been buried for hundreds of years before the valiant efforts by Langley and a team of archaeologists, historians and other experts to exhume his body and give him the burial they claim he deserved. This was all covered in Langley’s book, which bears the same title as the film adaptation, The Lost King, in which Stephen Frears (one of our most reliable journeyman directors) reunites with Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, who had previously penned his highly-acclaimed Philomena, to look into this thrilling and fascinating story, a compelling account of one individual’s journey to solving a puzzling mystery, and thus catapulting herself to global attention, which is quite an achievement for someone who had very little experience, and whose entire endeavour was fueled not by years of knowledge and meticulous study, but pure audacity and the tenacity to get a job done, even if said job is heading a massively expensive project, all based around her admiration for a controversial historical figure.

It’s peculiar that quite a bit of The Lost King centres on characters that fight against the negative reputation that surrounds Richard III based on a dramatised telling of his life’s story, since this film itself has been accused of taking many artistic liberties, to the point where there are murmurs of potential litigation from some of the real-life characters depicted here as villains of the narrative. While he does often make films based around biographical accounts of real events, Frears is not someone who we’d necessarily choose as our priority for the most hard-hitting, authentic pieces of historical storytelling, and it is especially more obvious that we should temper our expectations with Steve Coogan serving as producer and co-writer since his artistic process has always been one more adherent to humour, which is certainly very true of this film. It frames Langley as a strange but endearing woman who seems without any clear personality flaws (being the most generous and empathetic, and only showing signs of might when it comes to standing her ground in contrast to the draconian men she has to challenge to achieve anything), and whose entire existence is drawn from her ability to be extremely focused on a particular subject, to the point of obsession – although the film would likely show nothing but umbrage to such a classification since it wouldn’t want to layer any kind of negativity on its supposedly virtuous main character. There have been allegations that the film is slightly too liberal in how it frames Langley as just a dedicated amateur scholar who rises to fame almost overnight as a result of her laborious efforts, and while we certainly should praise her commitment to seeing this project through, the film eventually becomes an exercise in self-service, portraying its main character as a very simple woman with big ambitions, rather than focusing on the historical context quite as much as we’d like, with many of the most fascinating components being either quickly summarized or elided entirely, which leaves us with a charming but otherwise deeply conventional drama, and where the attempts to assimilate humour into the story is not nearly as effective as it seemed in theory.

The character of Philippa Langley is by definition fascinating for any actor since it requires someone to take on a character that has to balance both comedy and drama, run the gamut of emotions while still being a steadfast and compelling voice, enough to keep us engaged and interested, especially when the film that surrounds her isn’t always as effective as it could have been. Sally Hawkins is a superbly gifted actor, and her career has been defined by so many extraordinary performances, many of them playing off her unconventional charisma and exceptional versatility. She is a chameleon of an actor, and her performance in The Lost King is a very strong work, which may be difficult to believe considering how the film surrounding her is slightly lacklustre. Hawkins is excellent in the role, finding the deep humanity beneath a character whose experiences are already enough to earn our sympathy, but she wins us over almost immediately through her compassionate and empathetic performance of this woman who simply wanted to find resolutions to a major historical mystery that has plagued researchers for centuries, as well as clearing the name of a monarch to whom she seems to share a very deep and personal connection. Hawkins brings so much heart and humour to the film, and the detail with which she portrays Langley is incredible. She’s helped along by the ever-reliable Mark Addy (who is always consistently great, even in such a limited role – an entire film could have been constructed around the professional interactions and very clear friendship between his character and Langley) and Steve Coogan, who may not get the chance to do much but does bring a much-needed dose of genuine humour to a film that sometimes felt too boldly flippant in how it portrays the journey these characters undergo. However, the entire supporting cast exists in service of Hawkins, who delivers a standout performance, which is even more impressive considering how we may not have been expecting such a complex portrayal.

We all tend to love an underdog story when it is done well – but there is an argument to be made that The Lost King is slightly too sympathetic to its main character, presenting her as too much of an oddball that was constantly the victim of society’s cruelty, the laughingstock of the academic world, who were too fearful to admit that this peculiar milquetoast of a woman was at the forefront of one of the most important historical discoveries of the past two decades, and the person that almost single-handedly led the effort to find a conclusion for one of history’s greatest mysteries. Artistic licence is to be expected, but this film becomes very heavy-handed in showing her efforts, and while there is very little doubt that Langley is a phenomenal researcher and dedicated figure in contemporary British historical study (since she has continued in this field, now seeking out the remains of Henry I of England, which she claims is very likely buried in similar terrain to Richard III – an effort that is getting far fewer media coverage, both because we have already experienced this excitement, and the lack of mystery and historical resonance surrounding this far-less intriguing monarch), the film is interested too much in exalting her efforts rather than looking at the collaborative nature of such an endeavour. The most authentic version of this story is not likely to ever be known, mainly because everyone involved has their varying accounts (and it is difficult to discern precisely who spearheaded which components of the research), and because this is taken from Langley’s writing, which is always going to be biased. The film’s biggest issue is that it never acknowledges the inherent prejudice present in the story – it instead presents everything as factual and portrays Langley as someone whose efforts to stand up to unfair treatment are enough to warrant all of our sympathy. There is a very strong story here, and the film does relatively well in offering us a very clear version of this story – but the overwrought emotions make it immediately clear that this is not going to be a film that necessarily wants to be a critical and thorough engagement with the perilous and often self-centred world of academic research, which is worth discussing all on its own. It doesn’t invalidate this film, but it does prove to make it far less impactful when it comes to the more bespoke qualities that many of us would find far more compelling than the more sympathetic perspective of its protagonist.

When it comes to looking at a film like The Long King, it is only natural for us to gravitate towards assuming that it was built primarily on the foundation of seeking facts, providing an objective and unbiased view of reality. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare to find any work of art that is entirely lacking in prejudice in some way, which is, unfortunately, a byproduct of the whole concept of history being written by the victor. In a way, this is quite appropriate for a film centring on reanalysing the history of Richard III, a figure who is arguably still extremely divisive, despite widespread activism that aims to reconfigure his legacy as one that was not the embodiment of pure evil, but rather an instance of someone’s reputation being forcibly tarnished by those that followed him. We may never actually know the full truth about Richard III, and even the most detailed campaigns to restore his place in history are not likely to be substantial enough to remove the layers of disdain and malice that surround him – but at least the conversation has been started, and while we may not be forced to be on the same wavelength as people like Langley (who have dedicated a considerable amount of time to detailed appeals in favour of the king), we can at least appreciate their efforts, which are truly extraordinary and portray a social system that is growing more favourable to reconsidering old biases and being willing to acknowledge that sometimes history is not always as accurate as it is made out to be. The Lost King is a charming film with moments of genuine earnestness, and it constantly manages to find new ways to surprise us – and even though it may be playing in a minor key, it has a few very moving moments, which are more than enough to qualify this film as at least a mildly enjoyable historical drama about the virtue of looking beneath the surface and not letting one’s ambitions go to waste, which is an important message that the film does tend to belabour, but at least in a way that feels compelling, which is more than enough to warrant our attention and interest in this story.