The King's Speech

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.

If you don't already know, this is one of the greatest movies of the 21st Century. The acting is fabulous,screenplay is supurb, costumes beauutiful, sets 100%. I will gush no further. I am a huge movie buff; have probably seen Citizen Kane a dozen times.

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter turn in virtually flawless performances in this virtually flawless film which has a shot at making the Top 100 of All Time. Firth plays King George VI, nee the Duke of York, familiarly known as "Bertie" to his family, who reigned over the Great British Empire from 1937 to 1951. As the second son of King George V and Queen Mary (she for whom the ocean liner was named), Bertie was "the reluctant King," who came to the throne after his brother David (King Edward VIII, nee the Prince of Wales, subsequently the Duke of Windsor) abdicated the British throne to marry "the woman he loved" the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson with whom he had been carrying on a dalliance for years. Mrs. Simpson continued affairs even while she dated the King, most infamously with Joachim Von Ribbentrop, one of Hitler's intimates, who sent her a fresh bouquet daily for years. King Edward VIII was a clubman, a gambler, a womanizer and a moral and intellectual lightweight who was remarkable for his vacuous conversation, his patronizing racial and religious attitudes, and his opinion of Hitler as "not such a bad chap." In short, he was the wrong King at the wrong time, that being the prewar 1930s. With the world mired in Depression and being ruled by racialist dictators, it is an open question how he, as moral leader of Britain, would have responded to World War II. History tells us that the imperious and remote George V wanted Bertie to ascend the throne in lieu of David in any case. Bertie, who was "prone to tears" as a sensitive child, was raised at a distance from his parents (quite common in those generations), was a left-hander forced to be a "rightie," was put into uncomfortable braces for being "knock-kneed," was subjected to ongoing physical and emotional neglect by his Governesses, and was teased by his siblings and peers for his stammer, which worsened as the years progressed. His father, unkind though well-meaning, berated him for his speech impediment and forced him to speak publicly, a humiliating experience. In 1926 Bertie made the acquaintance of Lionel Logue, an unorthodox speech therapist who helped George VI become a great public speaker. Logue also became a close friend for the rest of the King's life, and aided him in making most of his public addresses. Most of THE KING'S SPEECH focuses on Bertie's unexpected ascension of the throne and his duty to lead the British Empire in time of war using his words alone. In many ways George VI was unlucky; though media was coming into its own, in his reign particularly every speech was live, with recording and editing techniques that were exceptionally primitive. Given the era, a stuttering King would have been seen by most of his billion subjects as weak. And George VI faced a crisis in World War II that no British monarch has faced before or since. Thus, Logue's task was a herculean one. Rush plays the Australian Logue brilliantly, eschewing a "Crocodile Dundee" accent for a caustic irreverence. Though this sometimes enrages the King, Logue speaks to him man to man not man to monarch, gaining his trust. He becomes the King's true brother. Their relationship, serious and comic by turns, makes this a "Buddy Film" nonpareil. Firth is spectacular as the King. He never misses a beat, despite the difficulty of invoking a stutter where one is not present. He also shows us a kind, gentle, occasionally truculent, and altogether human King George VI, a man deeply in love with his wife and daughters (one the present Queen, Elizabeth II), dedicated to his nation, pained by his brother's lack of responsibility, agonizing over assuming a role he never wanted, and terrified of failing his subjects. Helena Bonham Carter plays Queen Consort Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) as a warm iron hand in a velvet glove. Elizabeth has no pretensions at all; she simply loves her family, and embodies the old adage that "Behind Every Great Man There Stands a Woman," never failing to support and wisely counsel her husband, even when she takes him to task at one point for being unduly rude to Logue. "You apologize," she calmly advises, when he asks her what to do. She dries his tears. She stands by her man in the best way imaginable. Of everyone he knows, only she intimately feels the loneliness he knows in being the King-Emperor. This is a film well worth seeing, and seeing many times, with the kind of depth that ensures its status as a true classic.

There is something to be found here for everyone in this brilliant and powerful movie. Entertaining on all fronts, both dramatic and laced with great humor and irony, it leaves one with a sense of euphoria and triumph. While comparatively little was known in America about Queen Elizabeth's father before the release of this masterpiece, there has been an on-going interest in her late uncle, the ruling monarch before WWII, who abdicated his throne in favor of the American woman he loved. His radio speech to England at the time when he removed his crown, and handed it over to his reluctant and ill-prepared younger brother, is perhaps one of the most listened to still today, not only by the British, but other nations as well. It is a speech that may be consided as having changed the course of history in such a way as to bring Queen Elizabeth to the fore as one of the most important rulers today in modern history. The pivotal point of the story in this movie lies here with her father, who had a debilitating speech impediment, and was hardly able to make a brief announcement let alone a speech of any kind. With the tenacious help of his wife, the future Queen Mother, they go together in search throughout the kingdom for royal physicians, who may hold the key to a cure. This depressing and increasingly "grim-go-round" brings them as a last resort, into the office of an unconventional speech therapist, who is regarded as an eccentric crackpot, a nonentity and possibly a fraud. Or is he? This is for the viewers to determine. The first thing this man does is to grab "royal protocol" and place it outside his office, solidly parked near the umbrella stand until the office visits are over. The results are not only hilarious, but appear to be beneficial and involve hard work on both the part of the doctor and the patient as they thrive to become a working team and establish a friendly understanding. In the midst of this true historical anecdote, the movie shows a dark and frightening contrast to the struggling king in the form of Hitler, a foe who has no trouble speaking whatsoever, using a documentary newsreel at the time showing him rallying the crowds, sending cold chills down some of the viewers backs. It is now a match between "Good versus Evil", and the rest is history. As for the king's speech, broadcast on the radio and listened to by England and the world-at-large, announcing that Britain is at War with Germany, it is perhaps one of the most intense and powerful ones ever given (On a personal note, this was a great topic for a small international speaking club located at UNICEF House in New York. After giving a short 5-minute address on the background history of the movie, I highly recommended that everybody would benefit in some way from watching it. My fellow members are from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Islands and while we are all fluent in English, it can be difficult for us to stand up in front of an audience and "speak out" although we are a friendly group, always encouraging and supportive). All to say, "The King's Speech" is a wonderful and important reminder to all of us that we have "A Voice".

This is an excellent film that explores the ability to overcome adversity and the power of relationships in providing the support needed to overcome adversity. Colin Firth plays Prince Albert, the Duke of York, who later becomes George VI. Helena Bonham-Carter plays his wife Elizabeth. Early in the film we see that the loving relationship between Elizabeth and her husband, Bertie, as he is called by family members, is in stark contrast to the chilly formal relationship that Bertie has to his father King George V and his mother, Queen Mary. Michael Gambon plays King George V, a not unsympathetic figure, but certainly completely in the dark in understanding the stammer with which Bertie struggles. It is Elizabeth, Duchess of York, who pursues some efforts to help her husband it is she who makes the first contacts with Lionel Logue, an Australian, who came to London after World War I. Gradually a relationship is built between Lionel and Bertie on which the speech therapy can progress. But there is an underlying reason why this story is of such importance. England faced a great challenge with the growth of Nazi Germany and the future was uncertain. In addition, after the death of George V, Bertie's older brother Edward became king. King Edward VIII was not mentally strong or emotionally mature enough to serve as king and he abdicates the throne to marry an American woman who had been twice divorced. Guy Pearce is excellent as Edward VIII, a charming and sophisticated man with limited intelligence and strength of character. Thus Bertie and Elizabeth are thrown into roles they never expected to inherit and Bertie, as George VI, must be the voice of authority and reassurance as England enters a tense and unsure time in relationship to Nazi Germany. This is the historic background on which the film is based, but the film actually spends the majority of time exploring the interactions between Bertie and Lionel as Lionel helps Bertie explore the emotional underpinnings of his stammer and develop the skills to overcome the disability. Elizabeth finds Lionel and begins to believe in his services but the relationship with Bertie has several starts and stops. Lionel comes to understand that Bertie has the moral character and determination to lead England should a war arise with Germany and Bertie comes to judge Lionel by the services he offers and the devotion he has to Bertie rather than by his credentials. The room in which Bertie and Lionel work is certainly worth mentioning since it is a large room with skylights and about 20 layers of wallpaper scraps clinging to the walls forming a fascinating collage that serves as the background of much of the human interaction in the film. Lionel is extremely protective of the process he undertakes with Bertie and even his wife, played by Jennifer Ehle, does not know the true identity of this client. All the actors were superb and Colin Firth is excellent as George VI but Geoffrey Rush was spectacular as Lionel. The film is excellent and its core message of teamwork and trusting relationships in overcoming adversity rings true.

Excellent movie. Blu-ray looks very good.

THE KING'S SPEECH may not be a truly great film but it comes close. The acting is splendid, the costumes well-researched, the background score including some classic pieces of Mozart and Beethoven is inspiring, and Tom Hooper's direction is admirable. What hampers the film is the fact that its protagonist, a stuttering man (Colin Firth) who must ascend the throne when his brother (Guy Pearce) abdicates, is really quite a dull man with a fierce temper and an inability to express himself as a person until he meets the challenge of a speech therapist. But for all his courage in overcoming his handicap, he keeps the story from moving forward until the last thirty minutes when the story's stature becomes more important because of the impending threat from Hitler and WWII. However, it must be said that Colin Firth plays King George VI with gusto, matched only by Geoffrey Rush as Mr. Logue, his therapist. The two of them create sparks in many a confrontational moment of truth, and each has a firm grip on their roles. Equally proficient, but less noticeable and given a smaller amount of screen time, is Helena Bonham Carter as the gracious and adoring woman who stands by her stubborn man and presides over a household of two children, one of whom is a future Queen of England. In a lesser but still rich role, Guy Pearce is excellent as Edward VIII. But unfortunately, because of the film's preoccupation with King George's speech impediment, the film moves forward at a snail's pace and only becomes more urgent during the final half hour when the world awaits the king's reaction to the news that Great Britain has failed to prevent war with Germany. All the technical merits make the film outstanding in various departments, particularly the cinematography, costumes, settings and music. Colin Firth deserved his Oscar and Geoffrey Rush would have deserved a nomination as a Best Actor rather than Best Supporting Actor since his role his clearly a co-starring one. More importantly, the film does a grand job of humanizing the Royals.

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.