THE LOST KING
★★★ OUT 7 OCTOBER / CERT 12A / 108 MINS
DIRECTOR Stephen Frears
CAST Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, Harry Lloyd
2013’s Philomena was a moving and gently funny account of a real-life hunt for a lost son. The creative team behind that film reunite here for another real-life search — this time for the 700-year-old skeleton of Richard III. There’s lots to admire: Sally Hawkins’ performance as the history nerd who found the King’s remains; Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s warmly written screenplay; a Hitchcockian score from Alexandre Desplat; the playful inclusion of Richard himself as a twinkly-eyed apparition, played by Harry Lloyd. But the film sometimes struggles to rise above the low stakes of its story. Perhaps the most dramatic scene comes, genuinely, at a Leicester City Council planning meeting.