[attrition] review: Movie: The King

[lyger]

http://attrition.org/movies/king.html

2005
Czarina

Elvis Valderez (Gael Garcia Bernal: Amorres Perros, The Motorcycle 
Diaries), has recently been discharged from the Navy and at 21 years old, 
he has no family, no home to go back to, and no idea of what he's going to 
do with himself. However, the one thing he does know is that he's going to 
Corpus Christi to find the father he never knew. The only things Elvis 
knows about his father are from the sparse details provided by his mother. 
Elvis seems to be a nice, sweet young man, and you immediately like him, 
and hopes that he finds his father, and will be greeted with open arms. Of 
course, if that is what happened, this would be the end of the movie and 
this review.

Obviously, the movie and the review go on to find Elvis arriving in the 
Lone Star state where he happens upon, or so it seems, a close-knit 
church, led by Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt). The good minister is a 
devout God-fearing Christian and his equally dedicated and seemingly 
perfect family is as wholesome as the white bread in bread-boxes across 
America. Pastor Sandow's "Get Right With God" philosophy is the cardinal 
focal point of his ministry. As soon as he enters the House of God he 
meets Malerie (Pell James), a cute teenage lass to whom he is instantly 
attracted. She, however, turns out to be the pastor's daughter and she 
directs him to the sanctuary to attend the services. He takes a pew as the 
pastor's son Paul (Paul Dano: Little Miss Sunshine) serenades the 
congregation with christian rock music, much to the dismay of his father. 
After services, Elvis follows the minister and his family to their home, 
where he tells Sandow that he is the man's secret love child, a product of 
an affair with Elvis' deceased prostitute mother. Sandow makes clear Elvis 
is to stay away from his family, home, and his church, as his family and 
congregation know nothing of his checkered past. Things between them 
appear to end there, but the situation is far from over.

[...]