Movie Review - 'The King's Speech'

The King's Speech (Releases 11/26) Starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush Directed by Tom Hooper Rated R

Brava, brava, bravissima! True art is transcendent. It heightens our sense of personal possibilities and self-expectation while deepening our appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of the human condition. In the current eager-to-please cinematic climate it is easy to forget that there is a difference between a movie and a film, entertainment and art. The King’s Speech is a reminder of these distinct classifications, and it’s ability to inspire through performance, cinematography, and production design make it an unmistakable work of filmic art.

Colin Firth depicts King George VI of the United Kingdom, who has suffered from a severe speech impediment for as long as he can remember. The film begins before Albert, or “Bertie” as his family and eventual friend refer to him, takes the thrown. But even as a prince, there is still a pressing need for public appearance, and worse, public speaking. After numerous failed attempts by traditional doctors and specialists to cure him of his debilitating and humiliating stammer, his wife, played by Helena Bonham Carter, seeks the help of a recommended, but somewhat unorthodox, speech therapist.  Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, works with the first reluctant prince to not only overcome the technical boundaries keeping Bertie from being able to speak, but the emotional ones as well.

Firth is absolutely riveting. His care, skill, and absolute surrender to this beautifully crafted character is nothing short of breathtaking. He glides so seamlessly across the wide arc of Bertie’s growth, lending such grace as an artist to a man bereft of his own, that you find yourself both fighting and failing along with him. The juxtaposition and inherent similarities between him and Lionel, an out-of-work Shakespearian actor who found his strength in his ability to help other’s find their voice, is as heart wrenching as it is comedic. Together, the two drive the story, which transforms from one about a stammer, to one about an unlikely and powerful friendship. Surprisingly, the success in this film is less about the ability to overcome one’s problems as it is about the gift of trust.

Helena Bonham Carter deserves accolades as well for her portrayal of Bertie’s wife, the eventual Queen Elizabeth. Though stately and regal, she is not without a grounded humanity, and that secret touch of unmistakable strangeness that is so inherent in Carter’s work. In this film, however, she embodies it in the tilt of her head, or the widening of her eyes, which works impeccably well for a woman who married a prince, but never wanted a royal life.

The cinematography, by Danny Cohen, in this film is also as strange as it is compelling, and lends itself perfectly to the themes and narrative of the film. Characterized by impossible wide and high angle shots of Bertie’s world, one feels the impossible task of one person being able to adequately inhabit the tremendous spaces he finds himself in. Likewise, the deadly straight-on medium shots lend a comic severity almost as ludicrous as a public figure that cannot speak. Lastly, the near eight inches of headroom given to each character in their medium shots, even when they are alone, reminds the viewer that we all have heights we feel we cannot achieve. In this way, Bertie’s impediment is a reflection of everyone’s self-imposed insecurities. But the space is there, right above our heads. All we need to do is step up and fill it.

The one weakening element in The King’s Speech was Guy Pearce’s depiction of Edward VIII, who abdicates the thrown in order to marry a woman that the Royal Family and Prime Minister object to. While the notion appears romantic and even a bit heroic, Pearce performance comes off as annoying and insincere. While the heightened language falls eloquently and believably off of the tongues of his fellow actors, it is forced and grating from the mouth of Pearce.

If not for this little casting blip, or some momentary lags in the momentum and energy of the story, this would have been a perfect film. But, no one ever said that art was perfection. The King’s Speech is delicious, exhilarating, charming, funny, and moving all in the span of a perfect one hundred and eighteen minutes. So, once again, brava! And thank you, Tom Hooper.

Comments

[steven germain]

You seem to put a dividing line between overcoming one's problems and trust. Isn' the latter the answer to the former? I thought the film centered around the notion that this heir to the throne, his royal highness, this very afraid man, as one of us - that his (and our) cure is not in the illusion of regal bearing but in the nobility of facing our ordinary fear(s). That healing comes from the hope, strength and experience that others who have battled their own demons can give us. That his (and our) true voice, the unhesitant, angry and profane scream of who we really are (not what we are expected to be) is our truly regal voice, a voice that cannot be found from on high. Everyman would be King but for his afflictions.

[Olivia Briggs]

Beautifully written response Steven! I can only hope that my article inspired such eloquence!
In response to you, when I referred to overcoming one's problems I was speaking directly to the issue of curing the stammer. I wanted to make it clear that this movie is less about curing an affliction than it is about learning to trust. Yes, as it turns out, the two go hand in hand, but that is learned as a happy accident (from Bertie's perspective) in the film.
I hope this clarifies.
Best to you and your writing!
Olivia