The Kings Speech was more of a royal let down to be entirely honest, considering all the rave reviews it received in the press. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this film so I braced myself stiffly as one would expect when faced with a stuffy British Royal family from the 1930’s!
The story centre’s around King George VI of Britain, real name Prince Albert, (played by Colin Firth) and his impromptu ascension to the throne due to his older brother’s abdication of the title. Prince David decides to follow his heart and denounce his crown by choosing to marry an American divorcee by the name of Wallis Simpson. The threat of the entire British Government resigning if he persists in his suit of this foreigner puts Prince David in an impossible position and so he decides it would be best if his brother were to rule the commonwealth rather than him. Reluctant, because of his inability to complete a full sentence without stammering, Prince Albert takes to the throne with the help of his supportive wife Elizabeth-aka The Queen Mother- played excellently by a cheeky Helena Bonham Carter. After many failed attempts at overcoming his speech impediment, Elizabeth tracks down a very unusual doctor whose unorthodox methods of coaching seem to actually work.
Colin Firth puts in a very good performance as Albert, or ‘Bertie’ as his vocal coach insists on calling him much to his horror! He is most endearing when he visits his therapist’s office and has to act in a manner to which he is not accustomed! Swearing profusely, waltzing and singing whilst reciting Shakespeare and having his wife sit on his stomach are the scenes where Firth brings a sensitive side to his otherwise stiff character. Firth excellently portrays the awkwardness and frustrations of the king at trying to deal with his condition and for this he deserves kudos where it is due. But I am not entirely convinced that because this makes you a strong individual, that you can take on a royal role of this magnitude and succeed. One must have other strengths, and quite frankly we see NONE of these throughout the course of the movie.
For the running time of 118 minutes, it felt a whole lot longer. I take glancing at my watch once as a bad sign- never mind numerous times. The manner in which the movie was shot was a little confusing, one minute it was bang on centred with beautiful lines and architecture and the next the character was to the left of the screen at odd angles with a paint spattered wall in the background. I think Tom Hooper should have stuck to one style and ran with that as it got a little annoying. The period in which it is set is in the 1930’s and although it was in war times, there is very little color in the movie that you would normally associate with royalty- the magnificent blues, purples and reds were nowhere to be seen so there was not much life on screen bar the good efforts of the costume department.
The best thing about this movie is Geoffrey Rush’s performance as the Australian doctor Lionel Logue. He is warm and trustworthy and his powerful strength in his own abilities of being able to help anyone overcome their speech defect is wonderful to watch. He is gentle and yet persuasive and his loyalty and unwavering belief in who ‘Bertie’ could be, rather that who he was, was what made me stay in my seat.
Thanks to my radio show’s assistant producer, Nuala Cronin for review.
