The Kings Speech

The King's Speech offers a well done, interesting period piece, focused on the final days of King Edward VIII's reign, into the early days of the reign of his younger brother, the much beloved King George VI. We first see the painfully shy Duke of York (future King George VI) giving a speech in public - with thousands of eyes on him and untold numbers more via radio. It's clear this is a man forced to overcome the very insecurities, fears, and personal weaknesses that have plagued his life under his father, King George V, and charismatic brother, King Edward VIII. Over the course of the film this young man, fiercely loyal to his nation and oath as king, overcomes this inability to speak with the help of a man who'd become a loyal friend until the king's final days. With his faithful wife, Elizabeth, at his side, George (Bertie to family and friends), takes steps to becoming the man who'd be respected and loved by his nation during WWII. Brilliant acting, well done direction, true to period, intelligent with the emotions of such an undertaking, and a great script, meld together to involve the audience with what it's like to stutter. To my understanding the challenge of stuttering can be seen as paralleling this very journey. True, most stutters will never take on the role of king, but that feeling of being out in public, on a constant stage of being seen, judged, made fun of, while trying to overcome a challenge. These familiar feelings can extend to other areas of everyone's life, bringing a story, emotions, and experiences of one man's overcoming to become all he could and needed to be, to every viewer. Read more

I can enjoy fine movies with minimalist acting. Where the actors spend a lot of time saying nothing, but looking very serious, or hurt, or angry or whatever. The kind of the thing that lots of young American actors like to do these days. Where emotions are bottled up. This can be very effective. But sometimes, you just want to have a good, old-fashioned wallow in the kind of meaty, no-holds barred acting that, frankly, the British do best. And the best, most satisfying example of that this year is THE KING'S SPEECH, a terrific, interesting, engrossing and surprisingly emotional film about a monarch who stutters. In the years between the two great wars of the 20th Century, King George V ruled England and its colonies with a stern disposition and unshakeable self-confidence. His eldest son, Edward, is a dashing playboy type, but looks forward to his time on the throne. Younger son Albert ("Bertie") is shyer and more conservative...in large part because he has a rather pronounced stammer that years of consulting experts has done nothing to cure. He has a strong wife in Elizabeth, and dotes on his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret. And he has no ambitions to be king. His wife convinces him to start consulting with Speech Therapist Lionel Logue, a commoner with some highly uncomment techniques. Not only does he work on the mechanics of speech, but he believes that stammers also come from a psychological place as well. He's a sort of psychologist too. He works with the prince, insists that two men work on a first name basis, and through sheer force of his eccentric personality, begins to wear the reserved Albert down to the point where we learn much about his upbringing. And then, as WWII nears, George V dies and Edward serves only briefly, because the scandal of his love affair with divorced American Wallace Simpson forces him from the throne...and George is horrified to find himself about to be crowned. And eventually, George will have to give perhaps the most important nationwide radio address anyone had ever given in England up to that point...a speech rallying his people to the cause of war. He can ill afford to stammer his way through a speech that needs to inspire confidence and patriotism. It's a fascinating story, utterly engrossing. But it's the uniformly great acting that elevates this to such a high level. Small but effective parts are handled by folks such as Michael Gambon (King George V...excellent), Derek Jacobi as the archbishop, Guy Pearce as King Edward (he's quite good) and Jennifer Ehle in a small but delightful role as Logue's wife. Helena Bonham Carter is more restrained than usual, but also very effective as the Queen. She clearly dotes on her husband, which makes her very sympathetic, yet she also shows that the trappings and conventions of royalty suit her. The two appear to be that seeming rarity, a royal couple that are actually happy with each other. But all this great acting is just icing on the cake for the pure movie-going joy of watching Colin Firth (as King George VI) and Geoffrey Rush (as the uncommon commoner) go toe-to-toe. Both actors are at their finest. Rush can incline towards the hammy (as in the PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN movies) but when the script matches his natural characteristics (such as the unappreciated QUILLS)...he's just a joy to watch. His timing is exquisite and his commitment to his work is amazing. And Firth, though a more "restrained" actor, chews into his role with understated ferocity (this seems to make no sense...but see the film and you'll understand). He makes his Bertie so sympathetic...but rather than just playing a shy stammerer, we see his integrity, his wit, his pain and his explosive temper. His struggle against the casual attitude Logue takes with him is so much fun to watch, as are the great moments these two have together when they discover how well the King speaks when he is cursing. The two develop an odd but deeply affecting friendship. I don't know if the film presents history accurately...but it sure presents history as it would be nice to believe it happened. Both actors should be slam dunks for Oscar nominations...and Firth will be hard to beat. It may be his best "upper class British" performance to date. The film is a bit manipulative. The climactic moments being heavily punctuated with Beethoven seems a bit heavy handed. Some of the dialogue is just TOO good to be believed. But the two actors and their co-stars plow right through any weaknesses or pandering to the audience. A measure of the success of the film...my 23 year old son and 18 year old daughter loved it. For a film so far out of my son's comfort zone to grab him to the extent it did says a lot. This is a film worth seeking out and seeing immediately. Read more

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The acting is very good, and the story is compelling. I will watch this movie again. Read more

Unlike one of the reviewers who brutally attacked the film as being shallow and boring, I found it very interesting and full of facts that many people are not aware of concerning the life of anyone in the monarchy of England. It isn't that I find that having a monarchy a necessary thing, however, that said, there are many things that the rest of the population isn't aware of that go on in the life of anyone who happens to be born into that life. It isn't all glamor and luxury, as it appears from the outside, these people often live very unhappy lives, because they are loyal to the duties that are placed upon them from birth. No, I am not from England, I just am very empathetic with anyone in a position of power and what the responsibility entails, especially when as in England, the position isn't always sought after, as was the case with King Edward VI. And no, the things that he speaks of during his childhood, that clearly caused his stammering, are NOT irrelevant. they illustrate my very point. Like the monarchy or anything about it or not, you can at least take from the film, an example of what any ordinary person may go through who has had similar problems growing up. I personally know someone who has a speech impediment caused by child abuse. It has affected him his entire life. But back to the film, I found Colin Firth to be very effective in his roll as the speech therapist. He was likable and believable and an interesting personality. I found Geoffrey Rush to be a very compelling character. I liked him very much and he was entirely believable in his personality and his interaction with the speech therapist. Not too touchy feely, as hollywood likes to get with these kind of parts. That would have been entirely unbelievable in this setting. Helena Bonham Carter was also good in her roll as the kings wife. It illustrates that not all in the royal circle are stuffy and stiff. The film is a true story, which I especially like to watch, in this day of make believe and so much fluff and no substance or anything of any value to say at all. This story, outlines a very important time in world history, the dawning of WWII. It does this very briefly, but never the less, it adds to the weight of the entire story, of a man thrust into the roll of King, in a country who played a crucial roll in whipping the Nazis ass. No this fact is not part of the film, it is just something you think about after seeing the end of the story. All in all, I found the story, the people and the way it was put together, to be of excellent quality. Bravo!!!!!!! Read more