The Kings Speech - Review 5/5



Posted: Saturday, January 15, 2011

by Ed Walker
The Tooth

Oscar season has officially begun and January sees the release of a slew of potential award winners: 127 Hours, Black Swan, and True Grit among them. January is the month where cinemagoers, if they want to keep their finger on the pulse, start camping out at local multiplexes and learning how to pitch a tent on carpet.

The King’s Speech is a certain contender to the Oscar throne, riding on the triumphal performances of its three leads. Leading the pack is Colin Firth in the role of King George VI, whose crippling stammer made every one of his public speeches just a tad embarrassing. A story of a man/woman overcoming a disability is already a well-worn Oscar path, plus in this case it chiefly involves watching Firth stutter for two hours, which isn’t the most exciting of afflictions. However, he approaches the character with a real humanity; he is not the angelic tragic hero, but is flawed and ever so real.

Geoffrey Rush acts as his perfect counter part as the brash Antipodean speech therapist Lionel Logue. His disinterest in social protocol, although jarring to George at first, eventually allows the two men to nurture a deep friendship. The third element comes in the form of George’s wife, and the late Queen Mother, Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter. Deftly dancing the line between aristocrat and caricature, Bonham Carter puts in a terrifically endearing performance as the loving, supporting wife. Plus, it’s nice to what she looks like when she’s not in one of her husband’s films, following Johnny Depp around and covered in weird face paint.

However, don’t make the mistake of believing that this is an actor’s movie, just a stale but gorgeous frame for theatre luvvies to prance around within and pick up their Oscar on the closing credits. This is no ordinary period drama. The King’s Speech has a beautifully modern grasp of cinematography; director Tom Hooper avoids endlessly panning across English gardens and country houses like they’ve never been shown on film before and denies the viewer the flurry of furs and dresses they are so used to. Instead the masterful use of focus and extreme close-ups assure us that this is very much a raw, human drama. Prepare to be practically engulfed by Colin Firth’s face on numerous occasions as Hooper zooms in on George’s every expression, as he struggles through his public speeches.

What is particularly interesting about the King’s Speech is the angle it chooses to take on such a critical moment in the history of the monarchy, the abdication of King Edward VIII. It would have been far too easy to have told Edward‘s own story: his rejection of the monarchy to marry the twice-divorced American heiress Wallis Simpson. A man must choose between love and duty and of course, after many impassioned exchanges and staring out of windows into the rain, love wins. But instead, The King’s Speech is brave enough in its originality to reject the easy route and to make such a dramatic event a side plot, important only in its effect on George’s own character. Even more fearless is Guy Pearce’s portrayal of Edward as a rather un-likeable arsehole. He is played as the spoilt older brother rather than the tragic hero, his motive seemingly driven more by a simple desire to get his own way, with love having only a minor role to play.

The King’s Speech is a royal triumph, where powerhouse acting meets history through fresh eyes and beautifully-produced visuals. A must-see.
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