Kings (2017 film)

2017 French film

Kings

Directed by| Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Written by| Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Produced by|

* Charles Gillibert
* Vincent Maraval

Starring|

* Halle Berry
* Daniel Craig

Cinematography| David Chizallet
Edited by| Mathilde Van de Moortel
Music by| Nick Cave
Warren Ellis

Production
companies

* Bliss Media
* CG Cinéma
* Maven Pictures

Distributed by| The Orchard[1]

Release dates

* 13 September 2017 (2017-09-13) (TIFF)
* 27 April 2018 (2018-04-27) (US)

Running time

| 92 minutes
Countries| France
Belgium
United States
Language| English
Box office| $910,269[2]

Kings is a 2017 English-language drama film written and directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven. The film stars Halle Berry and Daniel Craig.[3][4]

The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2017.[5] The film was screened during three days as part of Stockholm's International Film Festival held in November 2017. The film was screened at the Torino Film Festival in Italy before opening wide by Spring 2018.

## Plot

[edit]

Millie Dunbar is a single mother with eight adopted children in South Los Angeles. Her neighbour, Obie, is the only white man in the neighborhood. Together they form an unlikely team during the Rodney King riots.

## Cast

[edit]

* Halle Berry as Millie Dunbar
* Daniel Craig as Obie Hardison, Millie's neighbor and love interest
* Lamar Johnson as Jesse Cooper Dunbar, Millie's adoptive first son
* Kaalan "KR" Walker as William McGee, Jesse's best friend
* Rachel Hilson as Nicole Patterson, Jesse's love interest
* Issac Ryan Brown as Shawnte Dunbar, Millie's adoptive second son
* Callan Farris as Ruben Dunbar, Millie's adoptive third son
* Serenity Reign Brown as Peaches Dunbar, Millie's adoptive first daughter
* Reece Cody as Tiger Dunbar, Millie's adoptive fourth son
* Gary Yavuz Perreau as Carter Dunbar, Millie's adoptive fifth son
* Aiden Akpan as Jordan Dunbar, Millie's adoptive sixth son
* Ce'Onna Johnson as Sherridanne Dunbar, Millie's adoptive second daughter
* Kirk Baltz as Police Officer #1
* Kevin Carroll as Manager
* Peter Mackenzie as Police Officer #2
* David Pasquesi as Howard
* Aries Spears as Keith

Quartay Denaya played Latasha Harlins, while an uncredited Rick Ravanello played Officer Camello.

## Production

[edit]

Ergüven started working on the film when she graduated from La Fémis film school in 2006.[4][6] It took her three years to write the script as she frequented South Los Angeles for research.[7][8] In 2011, she was invited to the Cinéfondation workshop at the Cannes Film Festival, where she met Alice Winocour. After struggling to find producers and financiers for the project, she went on instead to write with Winocour and direct Mustang, which was released in 2015 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[8] The success of Mustang finally allowed her to make the film.[7]

Principal photography began on December 27, 2016 in Los Angeles.[9] Filming lasted until mid February 2017.

## Reception

[edit]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 10% based on 39 reviews, and an average rating of 3.53/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kings has good intentions, a talented cast, and the basis for an incredible fact-based story; unfortunately, they don't amount to much more than a missed opportunity."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* List of hood films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 19, 2017). "The Orchard Acquires 'Kings'; Halle Berry-Daniel Craig Drama Set Against Backdrop Of LA Riots – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
2. ^ "Kings". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
3. ^ Barnes, Henry (June 29, 2016). "Daniel Craig and Halle Berry to team up on LA riots drama". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
4. ^ a b Jaafar, Ali (June 28, 2016). "Daniel Craig In Talks To Star In L.A. Riots Pic 'Kings' Opposite Halle Berry". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
5. ^ Staff (July 25, 2017). "The Toronto International Film Festival unveils first slate of films for 2017". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
6. ^ Hall, Gina (September 18, 2018). "Deniz Gamze Ergüven's L.A. riots drama 'Kings' is a surprising follow-up to her Oscar-nominated 'Mustang'". Film Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
7. ^ a b Olsen, Mark (September 13, 2017). "Deniz Gamze Erguven explores the tremors of the L.A. riots with 'Kings,' starring Halle Berry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
8. ^ a b Felsenthal, Julia (November 13, 2015). "Deniz Gamze Ergüven on Her Stunning New Movie, Mustang". Vogue. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
9. ^ McNary, Dave (December 15, 2016). "China's Bliss Media, Maven Pictures to Finance Halle Berry's L.A. Riots Movie (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
10. ^ "Kings (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
11. ^ "Kings Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 9, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Kings at IMDb