The King's Daughter

"What on Earth can hold more power than a king?"

2022 1h 34m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 741

FantasyAdventureFamily

Synopsis

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King Louis XIV's quest for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid's life force, a move that is further complicated by his illegitimate daughter's discovery of the creature.

“What on Earth can hold more power than a king?”

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Cast

Pierce Brosnan
King Louis XIV
Kaya Scodelario
Marie-Josephe D'Alember
Benjamin Walker
Yves De La Croix
William Hurt
Pere La Chaise
Julie Andrews
Narrator
Fan Bingbing
Mermaid
Pablo Schreiber
Dr. Labarthe
Ben Lloyd-Hughes
Jean-Michel Lintillac

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sean McNamara
Writers: Barry Berman, James Schamus
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 5% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 6 countries: Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sean McNamara, shot by Conrad W. Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Coda. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jeff Canavan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario and Benjamin Walker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What on Earth can hold more power than a king?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sean McNamara directs. Conrad W. Hall behind the camera. John Coda scores. Jeff Canavan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 5% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 4 years ago.
3International production across 6 countries: Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Sean McNamara, shot by Conrad W. Hall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Coda. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jeff Canavan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Pierce Brosnan and Kaya Scodelario and Benjamin Walker carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "What on Earth can hold more power than a king?".
9IMDB entry: tt2328678 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 23 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Conrad W. Hall
Original score: John Coda
Editing: Jeff Canavan
Production design: Michelle McGahey
VFX supervisor: John Helms
Stunt coordinator: Chris Anderson
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,500,000
Box office: $2,200,000
Return: 5% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The King's Daughter (2022)

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Sean McNamara

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2022-02-26
★ 2/10
MORE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ "The King's Daughter is everything viewers expected: a formulaic, uninteresting story filled with old-fashioned cliches and spine-chilling visual effects - not in a good way. Not a single filmmaker and respective creative team deserve to have their work stuck in a seven-year limbo until it's released, let alone due to scheduling and budget issues. However, while the horrible VFX can be forgiven, the disappointing narrative can't be saved, not even by the also underwhelming performances. Pierce Brosnan (False Positive) seems to represent a caricature, while Kaya Scodelario (Crawl) benefits from the release delay, which fortunately didn't negatively impact her early career. The only positive point is that, in fact, it reached the big screen. Too bad it's not worth it." Rating: D-
CinemaSerf2023-06-16
★ 4/10
Must have been tax return time for Pierce Brosnan as he "stars" in this daft historical fantasy about Louis XIV of France and his aspirations for immortality. Egged on by the ambitious "Labarthe" (Pablo Schreiber) he believes that he can live forever if her manages to get hold of a mermaid and - well, he pinches her life force. Snag is, though, his own daughter "Mary-Josephe" (Kaya Scodelerio) is not so supportive of this scheme when she discovers this distressed sea creature and so, of course, off we head into the turbulent waters of familial discord before a whopping great power ballad at the end. William Hurt crops up here, too, and Benjamin Walker provides some eye candy - but the story is Disney-lite, there is way too much verbiage and although Brosnan tries to ham it all up, he just looks like he couldn't care less about any of it - a feeling with which I could pretty readily associate. It does look good, the costumes and Versailles look lovely but the rest of it is straight to video.
JPRetana2026-05-28
King Louis XIV fathered so many bastards even he would have a hard time keeping track. The King’s Daughter (2022) follows one of the lesser known. You may notice that the title is not “La Fille du Roi.” This is because everyone involved is English, American, Australian, Scottish, and even Chinese — that is, anything but French. One can only wonder two things: 1) what would the French think of their most iconic monarch played by Pierce Brosnan, arguably the most British actor possible, and 2) why didn’t they just move the story from France to England? Louis has a mermaid kidnapped and brought to an “underground river” in Versailles to be sacrificed during a solar eclipse so that he can become immortal. The creature “remains on the bottom, weakened and traumatized by her journey … It is as if she has lost the will to live.” It never occurs to anyone that perhaps the change of habitat from saltwater to freshwater could have something to do with the mermaid’s declining health. Shouldn’t this be obvious, even in the 18th century? That notwithstanding, the mermaid is able to save Marie-Josephe’s (Kaya Scodelario) arm from amputation when she enters the water with her. Let’s see; a fantastical, fragile creature that lives in water and has healing powers that can extend people’s age beyond the natural limit. Isn’t that the plot of Cocoon? According to Louis, “the creature is the centerpiece of the celebration [and must be brought] to full and robust recovery in time for the eclipse.” However, even at a 100%, the mermaid never manages to look like a living being. It’s not that she isn’t realistic because, since there is no such thing as a mermaid, realism doesn’t even enter into the equation. The problem is that she’s not real — which, on the other hand, makes it a perfect match for a Versailles so phony-looking it appears to have come straight out of an Age of Empires videogame. The mermaid is played (sort of) by Fan Bingbing, who clearly has the ethereal allure appropriate for the role but is utterly stripped of humanity by piss-poor CGI. Since the part doesn’t require her to talk or do much else besides swim, why not let the flesh-and-blood actress be the mermaid? The rest is pure generic romantic intrigue. Will Marie-Josephe obey her father’s wishes and marry the suitor he has chosen for her, or will she follow her heart into the arms of indomitable Captain Yves De La Croix (Benjamin Walker)? Will the mermaid succumb to the nefarious plans of Dr. Labarthe (Pablo Schreiber), or will she do a Free Willy at the last second? Is seawater brackish? The film’s lone saving grace are the interactions between Brosnan and William Hurt (Père Lachaise), which are as deserving of a much better movie as they are out of place in this one. As funny as their few-and-far-between exchanges are, the King’s daily morning ritual of confessing his extra-marital indiscretions of the night before, followed by the insta-absolution required, somewhat under duress, from the priest, is not something you'd want to expose little kids to — and if little kids can’t watch what is essentially a kiddie flick, who will?