Shown at last years 'London Film Festival', The King comes to the screen with a lot of pre publicity buzz. For once, the performances and storyline warrant this amount of coverage, as the film is essentially a study of evil. Make no bones about it, the central character is not a nice person, he is unapologetically nasty and his actions, which are out of context of the film, make almost no logical sense. But then when has evil been so easy to categorise?

Mexican superstar, Gael Garcia Bernal plays the lead, a young man just discharged from the navy having successfully served out his subscription. He heads back to his hometown where he intends to meet his father, whom he has only heard about from his deceased mother. When he arrives, Elvis (Garcia) discovers that his father, David Sandow, (played by a superb, William Hurt) is happily married and has two seemingly perfect kids. Not only that, but he is also a pastor at a thriving Baptist church, and subsequently does not want Elvis entering his life. Taking the initial rejection on the chin, Elvis sets about making a life for himself with a humdrum job in a pizza parlor, but he is soon drawn to David's daughter, Malerie. Things take a more dramatic turn, however as Elvis's thirst to be accepted begins to consume him…

Don't be fooled by the fact that Sandow is a god-fearing pastor in Texas. He is a good-natured man whose initial rejection of is estranged son is understandable. He is also a devoted father and his other son, as well as Malerie, enjoy the life they have. It is Elvis and his motivations that are put under the microscope. What has just been described, does not seem to be the actions of someone truly evil, however without giving the plot away he certainly does take some further drastic measures.

Garcia Bernal plays Elvis as almost deadpan and absolutely detached from the real world surroundings he is in. Although his mother is Mexican, it does not seem to be racism that is pushing his father away from him. You are constantly left wondering what his motivations are, is it the desire to be part of a family, or does he want revenge for the life he lost. Maybe, it could just be his inability to handle rejection after such a long time.

Elvis's infiltration of the family home is not some 'stalker' based cliché, in fact it is reminiscent of Cape Fear, with the key difference being the difficulty with which we the audience are faced with when catergorising the character. Is he evil, or is it his actions that are evil?

When the film does jolt into darker territory, it is all the more alarming because it appears to come out of nowhere. On reflection, you realise that Elvis has been treading a fine line from the very first moments of the film, but it is the skill of the writer and director James Marsh that this has been handled with such delicacy. All credit to him and co-writer Milo Addica (Monster's Ball) that the film is never judgmental on any of its characters. It would have been easy to give Elvis nervous ticks and a body covered in terrifying scars, and tattoos to explain his disturbed behavior. But instead you get a character study and dissertation in human nature.

The film is wonderfully shot, with a haunting soundtrack, which adds to an overall unnerving feel to the film. In the season of blockbusters dominating the big screen, The King stand apart as a quality piece of work.

For more information check out: www.thekingthemovie.co.uk