A Hologram For The King ****

It appears Tom Hanks can do no wrong. A Hologram for the King offers yet another troubled character for Hanks to fully embody and us to fully support. It’s also a curious sunny postcard for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) – even though it wasn’t really shot there, with Morocco and Egypt being the real stars. It also has quite an original story to tell, albeit veiling the standard one of a down-on-their-luck lead blossoming under the right circumstances.

Hank is failed American businessman Alan, who once had the gift of the salesman gab, but is on his last chance to sell a company’s hologram conferencing technology to the Saudi King. Battling jet lag, the Kingdom’s lax time-keeping and personal demons, Alan finds solace in his new foreign host.

Writer-director Tom Tykwer’s film adaptation of Dave Eggers’s novel starts off in sardonic fashion with a quasi music-video intro, starring Hanks, inspired by Talking Heads ‘Once in a Lifetime’. Hanks is becoming quite the veteran music-video star, having recently appeared in Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘I Really Like You’ video. Hence, this intro is another delight to witness. What follows next is a beleaguered middle-aged man on a business trip and an odd life journey, out of his depth but trying to get a grip.

Rather than filmed in a scatty, slapstick manner about a man losing control, Tykwer’s film’s pace lingers to allow you to get a sense of the passing of time as we wait for the ever absent king. In doing so, this really places the focus on Alan and allows Hanks to shine in all his gurning glory, acting out Alan’s full spectrum of emotions. This is done as a comedy of errors, with supporting character, quirky driver Yousef (a brilliant Alexander Black) providing just the right amount of tomfoolery to keep things this side of comical.

British born actress Sarita Choudhury is like a mirage of mystery in the desert setting, playing Zahra, a doctor that tends to Alan. The frustration (as a Western woman) is how much more we want to know about her intriguing character. She is an independent woman living in a traditionally restricted country for women. There is a liberating ending which gives opportunity to do this but might spoil her mystique. Perhaps, withholding information is what makes the whole affair more compelling.

KSA’s human rights record and its other customs are touched upon only lightly – such as Yousef comments on a ghoulish Saturday ritual on route to a bizarre millionaire’s barren development, where Alan’s audience with the King is due to take place. This does keep the personal story on track, though this might infuriate some as desensitizing important issues. However, the film’s writers do not shy away from giving firm nods, even to terrorism in a couple of situations. Overall, things are played rather safe.

A Hologram for the King deals with an age-old situation of mid-life burnout within a fascinating environment, but without judgment – even at the end when differences are resolved without dialogue being heard. Hanks fans are in for a unique treat in the Middle Eastern sun.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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