The King’s Speech (2010)
I’d always meant to see The King's Speech but never found the right mood, crowd, or time until today. I wish I could go back to get myself to see it sooner. Its story completely enraptures you, everyone delivers fantastic performers, and it offers many memorable moments throughout. Even though it’s "only" a movie about people talking it’s as exciting as a bomb going off.
Prince Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth) suffers from a terrible stammer. He’s tried everything to get over it, but has given up. With the advent of radio and increasing responsibilities as his brother Edward (Guy Pearce) shows himself unfit to rule, Albert is convinced by his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to see Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist.
There’s almost too much to take in from a single viewing. Firth won the Academy Award for best Actor so obviously you want to pay attention to him but he's just one among many. Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent here. They feel like real people with unique flaws, dreams, and quirks. When the camera isn’t on them, you know their lives go on. Then, there’s the cinematography. It's great but not in obvious ways. This movie is all about dialogue and characters. The camera sneaks in to enhance the mood, by giving you low shots to emphasize how daunting a task might be, or framing the characters in a way that allows you to understand how they feel on the inside. I wish I could tell you about the music, the sets, and the period-accurate costumes but honestly, they all blend in so well with the rest of the film I couldn’t notice them. The professionals working behind the scenes did such a good job you forget it was all constructed for the film and that in another world, it might not have been there.
When The King's Speech ended, I was wondering when the next scene was going to begin. At 118 minutes, it flies by like nothing. You desperately want a sequel because the story of this soon-to-be-ruler and this speech therapist is filled with every emotion imaginable. It makes you realize how hungry you were to see greatness. We aren't getting a “Part II" but that’s ok. There’s good re-watch value here. I’d love to be able to memorize some of the lines in this movie for fun or to isolate one particular element and focus my attention upon it.
I know some of you might be thinking “People talking? I get enough of that at work”. Consider that you’ll be inspired, delighted by the relationships that develop, and that it’s a tremendous crowd-pleaser that’s so accessible and so delightful strings were pulled so that the R-rating was toned down to a PG-13 despite the deluge of profanities throughout. Also, consider that you’re a damn fool and that you’re doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on it. I had high hopes for The King’s Speech. It still took me by surprise. I love his movie. (On Blu-ray, January 15, 2016)
