Albert, the Duke of York (Colin Firth) has everything going for him but his speech impediment has always stopped him from living a glorious public life. Fondly called Bertie, the Duke has tried all the tricks in the book to overcome his stammering but nothing seems to work. Although Bertie's father, King George V (Michael Gambon), understands his son's troubles, he nevertheless tries it the old school way to push the lad every now and then hoping things would get better.
Bertie tries his darndest to avoid speaking in public and while not being the heir to the throne helps, his elder brother David's (Guy Pearce) non-conformist manner makes it difficult for him to avoid the spotlight.
The Duke's wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is more resilient than monarch himself and persuades him to undergo a few sessions with an Australian speech therapist called Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue not only breaks all protocol while dealing with the Duke but also has rather unconventional methods at his disposal. Although they get off on the wrong foot Albert soon finds in Logue the friend he never had.
After the death of the King, David accedes to the throne as King Edward VIII but the new king seems to be more involved with Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), his American socialite girlfriend, than the matters of the state. In Bertie, Logue sees someone who has all the makings of a fine king and even suggests that England would be better off with him rather than David who cares two hoots for tradition. Albert accuses him of sedition and snaps all ties with him. When David suddenly gives up the crown in order to marry Wallis, circumstances compel Albert to become King George VI.
Albert and Elizabeth return to Logue and ask him to Albert address the nation at his coronation. Much to shock the king gets to know the truth about Logue and the two confront each other's abilities.
The King's Speech is one of those small lil 'Brit' films that celebrate English vanity with the help of heightened drama that evoke just the right emotional response from the viewer. Operating on a simple premise that 'only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly', The King's Speech is one of those films that portray great men and women comfortably perched in high places and yet tormented by the same troubles that would plague the folks they rule.
In Colin Firth director Tim Hooper finds just about the perfect actor to play the Duke of York. For years now Firth has delivering noteworthy performances and with last year's A Single Man he finally got a lead role that did justice to his talent.
But with The King's Speech Firth gets the role that he was born for. Firth gets Bertie so right that after a while you forget you are watching a film. He makes Bertie operate on two levels throughout the film to convincingly portray the two men that seem to reside within one.
He makes him strong in thought for that's what is expected from royalty and yet at the same time he makes him vulnerable enough to be ridiculed by his own father and brother.
We feel his pain when his people gawk at him as he struggles with each word; we are elated when he hears his own voice on the record that Logue makes of his almost unbroken rendition of Hamlet; we feel his fear when his daughters asks him to tell them a story and in the end in his victory, we rejoice.
This year's Oscar winner for Best Director and the Best Film in addition to Firth's Best Actor nod, The King's Speech has also been honored for its screenplay. David Seidler's script, at places, does look manufactured and even designed to evoke the correct reactions but one can't really say that the film doesn't deserve the laurels it's receiving.
It's become almost impossible to imagine a big British film without the presence of Helena Bonham Carter but she plays Queen Elizabeth with much poise and while Geoffrey Rush is quite convincing as the unconventional Logue, he does make it difficult to endure him at places. Rush summons the star in him rather than the actor and Logue go overboard at so many places that after a while it seems we are watching Seidler's play with some bad actor who looks a lot like Rush!
At places you are convinced that he is going to utilize his Captain Barbossa from The Pirates of the Caribbean to help Albert!
Some have questioned the historical inaccuracy of the film and even though The King's Speech looks contrived at places it's not fabricated enough to not move you. Watch it.
Rating: 4/5
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambom
Written by: David Seidler, based on his play
Bertie tries his darndest to avoid speaking in public and while not being the heir to the throne helps, his elder brother David's (Guy Pearce) non-conformist manner makes it difficult for him to avoid the spotlight.
The Duke's wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is more resilient than monarch himself and persuades him to undergo a few sessions with an Australian speech therapist called Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue not only breaks all protocol while dealing with the Duke but also has rather unconventional methods at his disposal. Although they get off on the wrong foot Albert soon finds in Logue the friend he never had.
After the death of the King, David accedes to the throne as King Edward VIII but the new king seems to be more involved with Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), his American socialite girlfriend, than the matters of the state. In Bertie, Logue sees someone who has all the makings of a fine king and even suggests that England would be better off with him rather than David who cares two hoots for tradition. Albert accuses him of sedition and snaps all ties with him. When David suddenly gives up the crown in order to marry Wallis, circumstances compel Albert to become King George VI.
Albert and Elizabeth return to Logue and ask him to Albert address the nation at his coronation. Much to shock the king gets to know the truth about Logue and the two confront each other's abilities.
The King's Speech is one of those small lil 'Brit' films that celebrate English vanity with the help of heightened drama that evoke just the right emotional response from the viewer. Operating on a simple premise that 'only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly', The King's Speech is one of those films that portray great men and women comfortably perched in high places and yet tormented by the same troubles that would plague the folks they rule.
In Colin Firth director Tim Hooper finds just about the perfect actor to play the Duke of York. For years now Firth has delivering noteworthy performances and with last year's A Single Man he finally got a lead role that did justice to his talent.
But with The King's Speech Firth gets the role that he was born for. Firth gets Bertie so right that after a while you forget you are watching a film. He makes Bertie operate on two levels throughout the film to convincingly portray the two men that seem to reside within one.
He makes him strong in thought for that's what is expected from royalty and yet at the same time he makes him vulnerable enough to be ridiculed by his own father and brother.
We feel his pain when his people gawk at him as he struggles with each word; we are elated when he hears his own voice on the record that Logue makes of his almost unbroken rendition of Hamlet; we feel his fear when his daughters asks him to tell them a story and in the end in his victory, we rejoice.
This year's Oscar winner for Best Director and the Best Film in addition to Firth's Best Actor nod, The King's Speech has also been honored for its screenplay. David Seidler's script, at places, does look manufactured and even designed to evoke the correct reactions but one can't really say that the film doesn't deserve the laurels it's receiving.
It's become almost impossible to imagine a big British film without the presence of Helena Bonham Carter but she plays Queen Elizabeth with much poise and while Geoffrey Rush is quite convincing as the unconventional Logue, he does make it difficult to endure him at places. Rush summons the star in him rather than the actor and Logue go overboard at so many places that after a while it seems we are watching Seidler's play with some bad actor who looks a lot like Rush!
At places you are convinced that he is going to utilize his Captain Barbossa from The Pirates of the Caribbean to help Albert!
Some have questioned the historical inaccuracy of the film and even though The King's Speech looks contrived at places it's not fabricated enough to not move you. Watch it.
Rating: 4/5
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambom
Written by: David Seidler, based on his play
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