Lionel: Why should I waste my time listening to you?
King George VI: Because I have a Voice!
The potential odds on favorite for the Best Picture Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards, The Kings Speech is a masterpiece.
The story is simple and delightful, on the surface it looks like another boring period piece but once the film begins it becomes something much more.
Based on the remarkable true story, King George VI is set to take the throne after his brother King Edward VIII steps down, but has a major issue with his terrible stuttering problem. Knowing the people he would have to represent would not take him seriously with this embarrassing problem, his wife, Queen Elizabeth takes the initiative and seeks out the help of a speech therapist. In comes the therapist and what unfolds is the trying relationship between two men, as the king must push aside his ego in order to better himself.
Colin Firth who plays King George VI, is nothing short of perfection. Already winning the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, Firth is likely to walk away with the Oscar as well. It really is remarkable to see how authentic Firth made the stammering. His demeanor, anger, and passion directed at Lionel Louge, the speech therapist, played excellently by Geoffrey Rush, is effortless. I went to see this with my family and it was unanimous that Firth’s performance was jaw dropping, clap at the end of the movie good.
Geoffrey Rush was hilarious. His supporting effort will rival only that of Christian Bale in “The Fighter” and whoever will win, I can’t be angry. But Rush carried this film right along side Firth. The interesting thing to note about Rush was that he almost didn’t make this film. The script was secretly delivered to him at his home, which is not allowed by the movie association, and Rush’s initial reaction was no one is going to see this. He thought why would people want to to the movies to see two old men try to develop a friendship? But the film was made and I think he made the right choice because he was stellar as the antagonist always testing the king.
As great as the acting was in this film, and as smoothly as the story was told without boring the audience, there was more to it. I mentioned how funny I found Rush but the movie is filled with knee slapping one liners that can leave you laughing for a good amount of time. Rush as Lionel has sarcasm down to a T and King George VI anger problem makes things even more amusing.
One scene that stands out in particular was when King George VI is in a therapy session and Lionel asks him if he uses profanity. What ensues is a couple minutes laced with a hilarious repetitive string of curses as King George VI paces around the room yelling. We later see, as a coping mechanism when King George VI is delivering his speech, Lionel blurts silent expletives in between pauses in order to calm down the king.
The other performance to note in the film was Queen Elizabeth’s, played by Helena Bonham Carter. While Carter plays the strong arming wife of the most powerful man, I felt like we didn’t seen enough of her in the film. She was good but the talks of awards for her are rather misplaced.
The Film is very aesthetically pleasing, amazing visuals of the churches, buildings, houses…everything was dripping with elegance and prestige.
“The Kings Speech” is a top five movie of 2010 for me with brilliant performances from Firth and Rush. The worst thing you could probably say about the film is that from the early trailers it gave off the vibe of a costume period piece that wouldn’t attract an audience. It took a long time for the film to catch on and the buzz for it certainly hasn’t garnered enough steam it deserves. There are too many people out there still unaware of this film, and that is a darn shame.
Director Tom Hooper did a wonderful job in a film that may get overlooked by some and mainly the Academy. The buzz after the Golden Globes for “The Social Network” has people thinking it will beat out “The Kings Speech” for best picture. If I had a vote this wins best picture for sure, it has all the elements needed, just a brilliant film.
Rating: 9/10
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