The King's Speech

I’m trying to get out of my habit of reviewing films weeks and weeks after I’ve seen them. So it’s with interest that I finally get round to giving my thoughts on two of the awards seasons heavy hitters. So now that the dust is settling are both films deserving of all the adulation they have received? Let’s start with The King’s Speech. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months you’ll know that the film is about King George VI and his attempts to overcome his stammer with the aide of a speech therapist. In terms of a pitch, that’s pretty much it. However, the film isn’t really about that at all. It’s rather a study of a friendship between two men in unique circumstances. Colin Firth takes the part of the King, whilst his therapist, Lionel, is played by Geoffrey Rush. Playing a toff is hardly a stretch for Firth, but he tones down the stiff upper lipness and imbues the King with a mixture of stubbornness and helplessness. Throw in the portrayal of the speech impediment and it’s a great turn from Firth and much deserving of all the plaudits he has received. Rush is even better though. Lionel is actually a more interesting character than the King and Rush plays him with a matter of fact approach to life, but with the sense that there’s a lot more to his background that will forever remain a mystery. The chemistry between Firth and Rush makes the film, though Tom Hooper’s direction is mostly assured, with the muted colours and never ending fog of 1930’s London giving a real feel of the austerity of the times mixed with the impending realisation of the horror that was to come. Hooper also gives us a nice comparison between the lavish lifestyle that the royals lead with the coldness and individuality that Firth suffers from such a way of living. It’s not all Royal gravy though. The storyline itself is well out of whack with history (in reality the Kings stutter was cured almost ten years before the eponymous speech) and a lot of the acting is a world away from Firth and Rush. Helena Bonham-Carter (as the King’s wife) seems over prissy, Guy Pearce as Edward VIII seems to convey that old Ted was an evil villain as opposed to a bit of a cad who fell in love with the wrong person and the usually reliable Timothy Spall appears as someone doing an exaggerated impression of Winston Churchill as opposed to a straight portrayal. It's as if Hooper put all his effort into Firth and Rush, taking took his eye off the overall picture.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This isn’t quite deserving of the no-stop fawning it has received, but the two leads are on fire and though Hooper’s direction is hit and miss he makes an entertaining film out of unusual source material. Rating: 7/10.