Review: The King's Speech.

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T-T-Today, Jr.

King George VI (Colin Firth) has dealt with a stammer for the majority of his life. He's deemed unfit to give speeches, and most of all, unfit to be king. When his older brother steps down as king and thrusts George VI into the spotlight, his caring wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham-Carter) seeks a speech therapist to help him find his voice. Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) has the credentials they're looking for. His approach is somewhat foreign to the royals. He prefers to have the King in his own office and to call him "Bertie" (King George's first name is Albert) and for Bertie to call him Lionel. Soon, Bertie begins to depend on Lionel as he does the impossible: Helps the king lose his stammer.

The performances are what stands out the most in this film. Firth gives one of the best performances of his career as King George VI and Rush is right behind him. Helena Bonham-Carter also gave a great performance, but her Oscar nomination slightly confuses me. She was good, but was she excellent? The scenery was beautiful, the score was lovely, and of course the costumes were great. It was a very British film. I hate to call "British" a genre but that's exactly what it felt like. If it weren't for Firth and Rush, this wouldn't be any different from Elizabeth, The Duchess, The Young Victoria, etc. They all feel like the same movie. It doesn't feel particularly new. The film somewhat drags towards the middle. (But a film about someone that stammers, you're bound to have that feeling once and awhile) and the last 15 minutes felt like you were watching a different film all together.

While the film itself doesn't feel new or groundbreaking, the performances are wonderful and they keep the film going.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B+

Memorable Quote: "and....tits." - King George VI (Colin Firth)

Comments

  1. Candice FrederickJanuary 31, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    nice review. i haven't seen this yet but i like the actors so i'll probably catch it on a rental.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CMrok93February 19, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    Firth is very good in his role as King George VI, but it's Rush who has the most fun with his character, and thus makes us watch their scenes more and more. Good Review!

    ReplyDelete

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