One Night With the King [Blu-ray]

Read the book of Esther 1st -- you will be glad you did!
The first time I went to see this movie, I enjoyed it (despite the obvious production flaws), but I was thoroughly overwhelmed by all the history & all the strange names & all the multiple/twisty-turny plotlines & so I walked out of the theater feeling like I didn't really grasp everything that happened ...

So then I went home & read the entire book of Esther (it doesn't take very long -- it's a small book) & then went BACK to the theater & watched the movie AGAIN ...

BIG DIFFERENCE!

At that point, I was also able to identify all the "poetic license" that was taken with the book of Esther, but I do NOT think that it detracted from the overall message & profound truth of the Biblical story -- rather, I think that it ENHANCED it.

And now, after watching "One Night With The King," the book of Esther is very REAL to me -- like it NEVER has been before.

********

NOTE: IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL, THEN PLEASE GO & GIVE...

A Wonderful Love Story
Before anything else, I must say that I've read the Biblical book of Esther but NOT the book "Haddassah" by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen on which this film is based. With that said, I'll treat this film as just another love story and not an interpretation of the Biblical story of Esther, which does vary from this film quite a bit.

The story revolves around Haddassah (Tiffany Dupont), the lovely, wholesome Jewish daughter of Mordecai (the always wonderful John Rhys-Davies), a scribe for King Xerxes (Luke Goss). Early in the film, Xerxes "removes" his queen from power through the meddling of Prince Admantha (John Noble) and Haman (wickedly fun James Callis), both of which have their own delusions of grandeur in mind. Soon after, Xerxes goes on a quest to find a new queen to replace is "removed" one. Women throughout all the kingdom are taken to the king's palace and treated to all the wonders and niceties one would expect from the King of Persia. Eventually Xerxes...

An absolute hash of an epic story
I had very low expectations of this film, and the film did not live up to them. How this film has garnered an average of 4 stars from Amazon viewers is beyond me. The producers, director, and presumably the writers of the novel on which this book is based have absolutely botched it. It's such a waste of a profound and beloved Biblical story.

My main complaint is that Esther's true character doesn't get a look in here. Tiffany Dupont is woefully miscast. A nasally American voice and a modern sensibility overwrite the gravity of her situation and Esther's unusual integrity and presence of mind. I couldn't help feeling like I was watching an incarnation of Disney's Princess Yasmin. She giggled like a schoolgirl throughout, and when brought to the harem along with all of half a dozen other beautiful virgins (seriously? That was all they could find? In all the provinces of the realm? It was a pretty big realm!) she spent a lot of time twirling under invisible showers of...

Click to Editorial Reviews