The King's Choice

Set up like a suspense thriller, with on-screen titles that count down the minutes - not days or weeks - "The King's Choice" has the feel of a film that probably played better in its native country.

"The King's Choice" is a dramatic tale about a pivotal World War II moment, a story infused with tension and psychological conflict that's all the more engrossing for being fresh to us.

Director Erik Poppe's handling of complicated material - diplomacy amid invasion, familial struggles amid national strife, political machinery clanking along amid explosions - is clear and sure.

One of the most handsomely realized and viscerally compelling of recent period dramas.

Proceeds in the manner of any number of war epics of the 1960s, sluggishly charting how the ostensibly ceremonial king acquired real negotiating power during a crisis - and had the resolve to lead his country into war.

The film is handsomely mounted, traditional in its scenecraft, superbly acted, and much less ham-handed than you might expect from a historical drama about a great man's great moment.

... the film turns out to be a beautifully photographed and thoughtful nail-biter, suspenseful in a way that illuminates what must have been Norway's most terrifying moments.

It's handsomely mounted, extremely well-acted and tells a little-known story of bravery on the part of one man daringly taking on the might of the Third Reich.

Characters are dimensional and the stakes are high, giving "The King's Choice" plenty to examine as it visits an obscure corner of WWII history.

[I]n its political and personal aims, The King's Choice has chosen nuance over historical melodrama.