One Night with the King (2006)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Michael O. Sajbel

Writers:

Stephan Blinn (screenplay)
Mark Andrew Olsen (novel)

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Feel The Touch Of Destiny

Plot:

"One Night With The King" chronicles the life of the young Jewish girl, Hadassah, who goes on to become the Biblical Esther...

Plot Keywords:

Persia | Queen | Esther | Reference To Proverbs 25 2 | Purim

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Tiffany Dupont	...	Hadassah / Esther
Luke Goss	...	King Xerxes
John Noble	...	Prince Admantha
Omar Sharif	...	Prince Memucan
John Rhys-Davies	...	Mordecai
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Hegai, the Royal Eunuch
James Callis	...	Haman, the Agagite
Peter O'Toole	...	Samuel, the Prophet
Javen Campbell	...	Prince Tarshish
Jyoti Dogra	...	Queen Vashti
Neal Bhattacharya	...	Bigthan
Jonah Lotan	...	Jesse
Dilshad Patel	...	Hannah ) (as Dilshad (I)
Nimrat Kaur	...	Sarah
Takesh Singh	...	Harbona, the Eunuch

Also Known As:

One Night with the King: The Call of Destiny (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for violence, some sensuality and thematic elements.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Gener8Xion Entertainment

Trivia:

Originally scheduled for release in March 2005.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Esther is running to see the king to plead for the Jews the scene switches back and forth between Xerxes, indoors, and Esther, outdoors. Esther is running through pouring rain yet when Xerxes is shown sunlight can be seen shinning through the windows onto the floor and across the faces of those in the room.

Quotes:

King Xerxes: [impassioned, kissing Esther deeply] Know you how many times I tried to come for you after that first night... How many evenings I spent counting the stars to keep my mind off you... How many excuses I created just to avoid the other candidates
[kissing her wholly]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 2007 Camie Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Kingdom of Love

As a believer and as one who has read the story of Esther - I expected much more!

Please accept this letter as constructive criticism and not bashing. I am a dedicated viewer and lover of TBN, CBN, all it's programs and partners and most importantly the Lord!

Though the publicity and PR were excellent I have to honestly say that I was highly disappointed with the movie One Night with the King.

The start of the movie was very uninformative on the reason why King Xerses had Vashti dismissed as Queen. As a believer and for those who are not I think it key for the audience to understand how the people of that day and country lived and exactly why Vashti was being removed as Queen. This really in essence speared the way for Ester to become Queen.

I also feel that the audience did not get a good sense of passion between Xerses and Ester. Though this move was rated for audiences of all ages I feel that could have done a better job of showing just how much Xerses loved Ester. He loved her so much that he would have done and did anything for her. I really did not feel the love. Also, this really is not meant to be a put down but I don't think the physical features of the character playing Ester was right in this movie. The Bible story tells of a woman that is so beautiful. I recall reading that after the decision to depose Vashti as queen the council decided to have a beauty contest and invite all the most beautiful women from all 127 provinces so that the king could select the most beautiful woman to be the new queen. In the reading Ester was gorgeous in form and features. She was radiant, glowing, and glamorous. Again this is not meant to be a put down but the actress playing the role does not represent Ester physically. The movie also did not emphasize on the amount of preparation that was needed for these candidates to get ready for the king.

In addition the part in the move where Ester was running in the rain to get to Xerses to confess her true nationality and to save her people built up the audience but then nothing happened. Ester just fell in Xerses' arms and that was it. This definitely needed more substance. The audience needed to see just how much King Xerses loved Ester. The Bible indicates that when Ester approached the King without an invitation he faced her with a sword in his hand. The king gestured for her to touch the tip of the golden sword. When she did this she knew that she was safe. In the movie the king did not ask Ester of her heart's desire. The Bible indicates that the king said, "Queen Ester. You look absolutely ravishing today. What would you want from me? I will give anything that you want, up to half of the kingdom." The movie seems to show anger and uncertainly in the Kings eyes. I actually do not recall any part in the movie where King Xerses says "What do you want Ester? I will give you up to half of the kingdom". This was crucial. I don't feel that the King's deep love for Ester was really portrayed during any part of this movie.

Overall I felt lost during the movie. This was not only due to the fact that I know the story pursuant to the Bible. I felt lost through most of the move and found myself struggling to understand what was happening and what part of the story was being shown. If I feel this way as a believer I have to assume that the non believer may have even fallen asleep or given up on this movie.

Again, this is not mean to be bashing but I really want to give my honest and heartfelt opinion which I share with my Christian friends who have also seen the movie. I would be a hypocrite if I pretended to love it just because I am a Christian and only to show my support for the production team and Christina film.

God Bless,