|
The King's Speech
| Released |
7 January 2011 |
| Director |
Tom Hooper |
Starring
|
Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush |
| Writer(s) |
David Seidler |
Producer(s)
|
Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin |
| Origin |
United Kingdom, Australia |
| Running Time |
118 minutes |
| Genre |
Drama, historical |
| Rating |
12A |
|
|
Royal oratory.
You'd be forgiven not to be overly excited about going to see a film centred around King George VI of England and his inability to speak in public. As film subject matter goes anything to do with the British Royal family wouldn't be high on my list of must sees, this of course isn't driven by some inspired patriotism locked in past events but more because I've always been indifferent to the British Royals. Pointless and boring are words that best describe my opinion of them. Of course that indifference took a dent with 2006's The Queen, a film that focused on a specific time in the life of one such royal and proved that behind the walls of Buckingham Palace life is far from dull. That movie must have inspired or at the very least encouraged David Seidler when writing the script for The King’s Speech as his story contains an abundance of parallels with the latter.
Right from the opening scene, Tom Hooper’s (director) film just engulfs its audience, his close up camera style –often so close to Colin Firth’s mouth the next step can only be entry– an extremely uncomfortable yet effective visual and one that is constant throughout the film. And that's how the movie begins, uncomfortably. As Colin Firth bumbles and muffles while trying to speak to a disinterested Wembley audience, the audience on the projected side of the screen can't help but sit uneasy as the future King of England implodes. Hooper’s direction is immense, only trumped by Firth’s performance. Every single cinemagoer will be able to relate to what Duke Bertie (not yet King George) is experiencing, we've all had to give a speech or presentation in our time and everyone struggles. Of course B-B-B-Bertie has the added misfortune of a speech impediment that confounds his problem.
Enter Geoffrey Rush's unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue and with him that anxious and precarious beginning is replaced with potential promise. In what will seem like a strange statement, The King’s Speech could be the greatest bromance film ever created. Their relationship is unconventional; at the end of the day how can Lionel befriend someone who's never really had a friend. Bertie grows, Lionel persists. It's all truly beautifully executed, Rush and Firth equals in their endeavour. Both men receive equal billing for the simple reason that Lionel and Bertie are a double act. They need each other, together they can move a nation. Of course I can't really continue without mentioning Bertie's wife, Queen Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter. As they say ' behind every good man....' and of course she epitomizes the proverb. Here Bonham Carter continues her run of outstanding performances, sadly at times necessarily taking a back seat to the film leads.
This could have been a film about King Edward VIII, his affair with Wallis Simpson and subsequent abdication. Instead this is a film based on his brother, a man with no desire to be King of England or belief in himself that he could be, all set against the backdrop of a German dictator questing for world domination. An interesting contrast. Historically a lot was unfolding at this time but Tom Hooper has constructed something tremendously enjoyable and engaging based on King George VI, a man who wanted nothing to do with any of it. Not because he didn't want to of course but because of his inability to speak publicly or to be more precise his belief that he wasn't capable of doing what was expected of him and that's something we can all relate to.
Sometimes in cinema everything works, from screenplay to director to castings, each one complementing the other. The King’s Speech is such a film. Expect an Oscar bonanza.
- David Prendergast |
