The King’s Speech has received various awards and nominations, including twelve Academy Award nominations (the highest number of nominations in 2011), seven Golden Globe nominations, fourteen BAFTA nominations and wins from various critics’ circles. –Wikipedia
I was expecting The King’s Speech to be a good movie, and I am often disappointed by movies I think will be good. Not this time. The King’s Speech was great. It’s an almost literal fairy tale of a Price who becomes a King through no real desire or action of his own. First his father, played by Sir Michael-Dumbledore-Gambon, goes a bit mad and then dies. Then his total panty waist, loves to be dominated older brother King Edward VIII-played to villainy perfection by Guy Pearce-leaves the throne to be with American dominatrix Mrs Simpson. And thus a modest fellow with a serious speech impediment becomes king.
The King’s Speech sees Jeffery Rush does a brilliant job of being the classic eccentric doctor who likes to treat the kind like a flower girl. There is a tip of the hat to the world’s most famous Speech Professional, Professor Henry Higgins. One of the doctors the future King didn’t like asked him to put marbles in his mouth, just as old Doc Higgins asked Eliza to put marbles in her mouth. He is also a fan of odd voice exercises, jumping up and down, and singing as a means of overcoming stuttering.
On their first meeting, the Speech Defect expert uses a technique with earphones which cures the future King’s speech problems-and yet, this technique is never used again. While it might have been odd to see the King give a speech with headphones on, there would have be no such problems while speaking on the radio.
The cast of The King’s Speech was brilliant all the way round. It was wonderfully refreshing to see Helena Bonham Carter in a role where she is not a raving lunatic. It was also kind of fun to see Timothy Spall playing Winston Churchill-though I have enjoyed watching him play a ratman. The evil Mrs Simpson was played by Eve Best, who I see on a regular basis as Nurse Jackie’s one and only friend. Colin Firth does a wonderful job of not speaking very well and being very unhappy about it. And I always like seeing Derek Jacobi, who does a great job of being a pompous Archbishop.
The King’s Speech is all about the relationship between teacher and student, the fact that the student is a King does add a bit of drama. The film is set during amazing times, the end of the Empire is at hand, the rise of Hitler, the abdication of a King. At one point our hero sees a film of Hitler and finds himself wanting. Well, Hitler was evil incarnate, but he was pretty much the best speaker the world has ever seen.
The King’s Speech was a touching and powerful film, I really did laugh and cry, though I am not sure it became a part of me.
