Hail to the King

Oh yeah, movies have actual stories sometimes

Tom Hanks is almost always at his best when he plays the everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances. He's America's sweetheart, and while the man has proven his chops in dozens of memorable films over the years, he always excels in roles that utilize a simple and understated charm that almost allows us to feel like he's a buddy of ours. In A Hologram for the King, Hanks plays Alan Clay, an aging businessman with a recent messy divorce under his belt, a strained relationship with his daughter and a poor decision that led to the accidental destruction of Schwinn Bicycles still fresh in his mind. Clay travels to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pitch holographic technology to the king himself and must navigate a baffling labyrinth of culture clash, gender issues and severe panic attacks that practically hobble him. In the process of trying to do his job, Clay seeks a fresh start and a sort of redemption with the help of the goofy yet memorable driver-for-hire Yousef (newcomer Alexander Black), a comely Danish diplomat (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and a beautiful female doctor (Sarita Choudhury of The Hunger Games) also in the midst of a divorce.

Based on the 2013 Dave Eggers novel of the same name, Hologram seems on the surface to be simple to the point of lacking depth, and for those who might misinterpret subtlety or prefer their films to lay out stories plainly, that could definitely be a problem. Glaring issues such as the archaic role of women in modern Middle Eastern society or the systematic hollowing of the American economy at the hands of outsourcing are briefly explored, but anytime anything begins to approach too heavy or serious, we pop to a new scene wherein Hanks' character comically falls off a chair or the differences in culture create silly little misunderstandings. This doesn't mean that Clay's struggles to be heard by the Saudis don't come with tense moments of confusion, rather that the film knows what it is and doesn't strive for too deep.

Underneath it all, this is a comedy; however, a solid script from German writer/director Tom Tykwer (1998's brilliant Run Lola Run) showcases an important-yet-sometimes-forgotten concept in modern film: the character-driven story. Major differences between American and Saudi cultures are handled with sensitivity and brevity so as to establish they certainly exist, and yet they aren't pivotal elements to the story itself.

Hologram is a story about transformation, a fable whose moral comes down to how it's never too late to be better, to try harder, to change, to fall in love or to seek forgiveness from oneself. We root for Clay not only because he is the underdog, but also because his fish-out-of-water attempts to do his job and to do right by his family and himself are relatable and endearing. Hanks deftly walks the line between capable businessman and confused foreigner, his charm a mix of old-school hospitality and hand-shakery, but also sincerity; he is struggling in his life but is still the good guy. Choudhury's gruff exterior operates in sublime counter-balance to Hanks' almost-too-nice-guy tendencies, and more vulnerable moments wherein she is allowed to let out her feminine side prove an alarming reminder of how difficult it must be to be taken seriously as a woman in that part of the world.

Hologram recalls the importance of story in cinema, an important accomplishment in our current filmic era of real-life people playing support roles to superheroes and CGI. It is a story of people, people we feel we might even know, and one of the more beautiful story experiences, medium irrelevant, in recent memory.

A Hologram for the King

Directed by Tom Tykwer With Hanks, Black, Knudsen and Choudhury Violet Crown R 98 min.

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