The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 14, 2022

The King's Daughter is based on Vonda N. McIntyre's 1997 novel The Moon and the Sun. The film adaptation caught the attention of Hollywood executives more than two decades ago, signaling the start of the project's lengthy avenue from page to screen. The film's arduous history includes a stop at Disney in 2001, with Natalie Portman, then in the midst of her work on the Star Wars prequel trilogy attached to star. That film never materialized. More than a decade later, in 2014, principal photography commenced under the Paramount banner. Paramount announced an April 2015 release date, but the film was never released. Fast forward seven more years to 2022 when independent studio Gravitas Ventures acquired the rights and released on January 21, 2022 (Universal is handling the home video Blu-ray). The film earned a paltry $1.8 million at the box office against its $40 million budget, making it, mathematically, one of the bigger bombs in film history. Such a disastrous debut is no surprise given a project shelved for so long and in limbo even longer. The film neither sinks nor swims (to use a metaphor appropriate to the story); it simply never does anything more than tenuously dip its toe the tepid water.

The film opens with this text: “King Louis XIV is the longest reigning monarch in history and has made Versailles the leading center of the arts and sciences. All powerful, Louis has everything he wants – except the ability to rule forever. He commissions an expedition to find the Lost City of Atlantis, believing he can change the very rules of nature.” That only scratches the surface of the film's excessively, and needlessly, complex narrative that involves Louis (for whatever reason italicized in that in-film text), played by Pierce Brosnan, commissioning the capture of a mermaid in order to sacrifice it at a specific time coinciding with a rare celestial event in order to gain immortality. The story also involves William Hurt playing a priest who is against the idea, Kaya Scodelario as the title character whose name is Marie-Josèphe and who is the king's rebellious daughter who has been living with nuns rather than at Versailles. There are some other characters and plot dynamics, but the film is so sloppily constructed that it's difficult to sift through all of it, and it's not worth the effort to do so, either.

Perhaps the story worked better in Vonda N. McIntyre's novel. More than likely it did, or it would not have attracted some serious Hollywood clout at the time of its release. Maybe that it was so off-kilter that the strange blend of French history, cultic ritual, mermaids, wayward daughters, and so on and so forth seemed somehow a reasonable assemblage to play well on the screen but suffice it to say the content never comes together. The film is laboriously plotted and painfully paced; much of the problem, even beyond editing, lies with the script itself, which is confusing at best and incomprehensible at worst, but usually falling in some gray middle area where it just sort of is, sitting there like a lump while a cacophony of good actors barely try to pull something out of it. There's a tangible level of nonchalance to every performance; each actor works casually, without emotional investment or concern for trying to bring life or purpose to the characters (despite some high sounding statements in supplementary materials). Even matters of life and death barely register any emotion. That may ultimately be the movie's death blow; a dedicated cast and great performances can lift even subpar content, but add the cast's disregard with wayward scriptwriting, confused editing, and muddled pacing and the film's fall was all but guaranteed.

The film does not even boast much in the way of production design. One might rightly believe that a film set during Louis' reign would be ravishingly delectable, a feast for the eyes, as it were. While the film's facade is passable enough, it lacks that real resplendence, looking more cut-rate than real. Apparently, some of the film was shot on-location at Versailles, and the natural majesty does lend a bit of gravitas to the film, but everywhere else the picture simply struggles to keep up with set and costume design that merely looks good, never great (usually ravishing costumes and locations are a given for films set in this time period). Visual effects are likewise lacking, score is generic, and, well, there's really nothing good to say about this one. It's not pretentiously long, at least, clocking in at a svelte 98 minutes with credits, but for a film this poorly put together than can feel like an eternity.

The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The King's Daughter arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer. The image is unremarkable but generally effective for essential clarity and color yield. The picture shows good detailing but never capable of revealing the regal Versailles appointments or the period clothing fabric density with the high-definition muscle expected and desired. Faces are decently complex but lack that laser precision Blu-ray and digital can provide. Core textural elements are in fine working order, but viewers should not expect to be dazzled or delighted by the image as a whole. Color yield fares similarly, offering solid enough depth and vividness but lacking that absolute color explosion and life found on the best period pieces. There is enough vibrance to natural greens and bright clothing colors but not enough raw saturation and lifelike brilliance to really make a striking impact. Black level depth is OK if not a little murky. Skin tones have a mildly pasty look about them. Whites are a little more creamy than they are crisp. The image does struggle through some light banding and moderate noise.

The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The King's Daughter sounds pretty good. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is the only audio presentation on the disc. It offers everything a track of modern engineering and conveniences should, boasting prominent music with impressive clarity and large pronouncement across the front stage. Surrounds are folded into the experience as well to create a fuller and more immersive and dynamic posture which, combined with a decent subwoofer output, creates a pleasing aural envelope. Support elements, such as gusty winds, splashing waves, and surrounding underwater depth, are all presented with fine clarity and location stability. Dialogue drives the experience and is presented with commanding clarity in a natural front-center position. It is well prioritized for the duration.

The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The King's Daughter includes a deleted scene and a featurette. No DVD copy is included. However, Universal has bundled in a digital copy voucher. A non-embossed slipcover is also included with purchase.

• Deleted Scene (1080p, 1:40): A tone-deaf dance scene.
• Cast Reflections on The King's Daughter (1080p, 8:24): Key cast reflects on the film: developing the story, cast camaraderie, acting qualities, character details, and more.

The King's Daughter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The King's Daughter desperately wants to say something positive about love, life, and coming to terms with mortality...and mermaids...but it never achieve those goals. It is, simply put, a poor movie all around. Universal's Blu-ray offers solid enough video and audio and a couple of extras. Skip it.