The King's Speech is an enchanting film about a wartime King trying to do what is right by his country. England's Prince Albert succeeded his brother King Edward VIII to the throne in 1937 after Edward's scandalous abdication the previous year to marry an American divorcée. Known after his succession to the throne as King George VI, Prince Albert suffered from a speech impediment from an early age; a malady that plagued him for most of his life until he met a commoner named Lionel Logue, a speech therapist with unconventional methods. After a rocky start, these two men from startlingly different backgrounds became lifelong friends. This film chronicles not only the King's struggles with public speaking and how his relationship with Logue and his sweet wife (Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother) helped him to overcome those struggles; it also creates a picture of pre-WWII England and gives us a taste of what the world must've been like before Hitler and his followers forced it to change forever.
Colin Firth, whom I love, impeccably supported by Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, delivered an amazing performance. It takes a good actor to deliver a line. It takes a greatly skilled actor to deliver a line with a stammer and deliver it in such a way that it is not only believable but also portrays the anguish and frustration that such an impediment must give to a person of such stature.
The King's Speech is a must-see for anyone wanting to round out their award-season viewings, as Colin Firth has already won a Golden Globe for Best Actor-Drama. I'm sure more accolades are to come as long as The Social Network doesn't sweep the year in a depressingly Titanic-esque sort of way. The film is also a must-see for history buffs; anyone who loves Colin Firth; people who want to see Wormtail play Winston Churchill and Bellatrix Lestrange as a member of the royal family; anyone who wants to have a laugh and the next minute, a cry; and lastly, anyone who enjoys the artful dropping of a good f-bomb or two...or seventeen.
Interestingly, if you'd like to hear King George VI's first wartime address for which the film was named, you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAhFW_auT20. Another tid-bit of interestingness: King George VI and I share a birthday. Of course, his birth was 84 years prior to mine and he died before I was born but that is neither here nor there. I enthusiastically suggest this film. Go see it. You won't regret it.
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