The King's Speech

The King's Speech is directed by Tom Hooper, and stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter. It first premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award before getting a limited release on November 26, 2010.

A subject that has always interested me is the monarchy. Ever since I was little, both my parents would always talk about Queen Elizabeth II, what life would be like with Charles as King, grieving over Diana's death, and more recently, the engagement of William and Kate. Due to this, I had quite a bit of knowledge going into this film. The film is about the monarch before Elizabeth II, her father, King George VI. Before he was the King, he was the Duke of York, Prince Albert, the son of the King. He had a terrible stammer, which gave him an aversion to public speaking. After a terrible incident Wembley, in 1925, he began to meet with Dr. Lionel Logue, a speech therapist. By 1927, he was able to speak almost perfectly.

The film takes a few liberties with the plot, the biggest one being that the majority of the film takes place in the 30s, where instead, he cured his stammer in the 20s, but oh well, who cares? And to tell you the truth, it was a smart decision to set the film in the 1930s, because it added drama to the film, making it all the more interesting. I feel this was a smart decision by Hooper, and I applaud him for it.

In the film, the incident at Wembley happens, but he doesn't start to meet Lionel Logue regularily until 1934. In 1936, his father, King George V (Michael Gambon) dies, leaving his older brother, David, (Guy Pearce) to become King Edward VIII. He wants to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, (Eve Best) but because she is divorced, he cannot. He chooses to abdicate so he can marry Ms. Simpson, leaving Albert as the new King.

Colin Firth does a tremendous job as King George VI. It's not easy to fake a stammer, yet he does it brilliantly. You also feel for his character, as he is afraid for the majority of his life, and does not want to be King, yet he is thrust into the role, to save the monarchy. Also, the film adds the drama of World War II beginning, to make his situation even harder. Quite obviously, he will be one of the 5 men nominated for for Best Actor at the Academy Awards next year.

Geoffrey Rush also does a fantastic job as Lionel Logue. In my opinion, he did a better job than Colin Firth, and if you ask me, is the favorite this year for Best Supporting Actor, despite having already won the award.

The supporting cast also does a very good job. Just to name a few, Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother portrays an opposite to the characters she mainly does. Instead of being an evil, vengeful bitch,  she now portrays a kind, sweet woman, who truly loves her husband. Guy Pearce as Edward VIII was interesting, portraying a sort of rebellios son of sorts. And Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill. Let me tell you, he doesn't quite look the part, but he sure plays it.

The film is still in limited release, but if you get a chance to see it, I recommend it. You don't even have to know a lot about the monarchy to enjoy this film. Overall, I give this film an 8.5/10, a definite a-must.

Well, that's it for this review, and I'll see you in the next review.