It's fair to say they didn't take the Oscar for Best Photoshop.
Genuinely credible drama is actually hard to write about. At least when your main tools are fart jokes and lazy stabs at public figures. But with The King’s Speech being about a monarch with a speech impediment, and the much discussed scene involving much profanity, I thought if I can’t squeeze out a joke or two about that then I mustn’t have much f-f-f-fucking ability in the first place.
The film opens in 1925, in the era where radio was sweeping the airwaves of the modern world. As King George (Michael Gambon) himself says, “It used to be enough just to show up and wave, now they expect us to talk’.
Not so much a prob for Georgey boy, but the public want a little more from the guy whose head is on the coins than a knock-knock joke, they want to hear from his kids too.
Elder Son David (Guy Pearce) is an adept public speaker but is none too enamoured with this Royal business, preferring a bit of skirt chasing – and previously married skirt at that. This leaves the younger of the two. Known to his family as Bertie (Colin Firth) but to the public as the Duke of York, Bertie is expected to give the closing speech at the London Empire Games…
Amd what do you know the stunt’s got a cutter. I mean… well… you know what I mean.
Hiding is no use as a public figure, so over the next decade Bertie tries everything to improve his diction to no avail, and he and his loyal wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter on loan from Tim Burton) are about to pack it all in and withdraw from the spotlight.
Enter Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian elocution expert and aspiring actor. After some cinematic toing and froing it is decided that Lionel is the best man to help Bertie with his verbal shortcomings. This relationship forms the core part of the film, Lionel is a laid back informal man who insists on equality and that while in a student teacher arrangement it is he that is in charge.
Bertie however has been raised from birth to enjoy privilege and loyalty and reverence from his subjects – Lionel is of course one of them – the new dynamic is foreign to both he and Elizabeth. Bertie cautiously agrees with one counter-rule, no questions or discussion of a personal nature.
The strength of their relationship and indeed burgeoning friendship ebbs and flows with Bertie’s frustrations and small verbal victories.
Now history clearly shows that the following events happened, so don’t blame me for the ‘spoiler’, blame your lack of attention in class. In quick succession King George falls ill and passes, then David is summarily named King, only to abdicate shortly thereafter to be with his divorced American lover.
Bertie stands next in the queue, and despite his enormous personal doubts and misgivings he toes the Windsor company line and somewhat reluctantly dons the crown.
On top of all this Adolf Hitler has reared his moustachioed head once more and World War once again seems imminent, with three Kings in quick succession and a lack of firm leadership at political level someone must unite the country and calm them.
But how can a man speak for his nation if he can’t speak?
Of course most of this is the build up to the titular speech, which is extremely effective in its own right, but the film stands for itself as an entertaining time capsule of another era.
The best scene for mine though is when the newly crowned king and his family gather around a television to watch footage of Hitler addressing a large group of citizens. Though no-one can understand the language none can doubt the power of Hitler’s delivery. Bertie’s expression is both envious and petrified, worried that his own inadequacies mightn’t allow him the same impact.
As you would expect given that this film won Best Picture The King’s Speech is well written and exceptionally well acted. It is also unexpectedly amusing at times and at a tick under two hours never feels overlong.
Final Rating – 8 / 10. Another film that you can watch quite safely with the olds, only this is one of the rare ones that might entertain and satisfy you nearly as much.
