movie review: The King's Speech

I went to settlement on my new townhouse this morning. Although it was nerve-wracking to sign all those papers and hand over a huge chunk of money, it went as smoothly as anyone could hope for. The sellers are nice people, and they were easy to deal with. I'm well aware how lucky I am for how everything has worked out with this home transition. I will spend the last days of this year packing, so I'll be ready to move later in January. Seems like a fitting end to the year actually.

I had the rest of the day off, and I needed a distraction after all that important paper-signing and money-handing-overing, so I went to the movies. I'd been keeping an eye on local showings and finally, The King's Speech was showing nearby, after a long period of limited release.

This movie is about King George VI's ascension to the throne, after his brother Edward abdicates so he could marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, and just before the start of World War II. More importantly, it's about George VI's quite noticeable stammer, which I'm sure made speech-giving an agony, especially in a position such as his, and with radio broadcasts of important events becoming more popular.

Colin Firth has come a long way from Mr Darcy to George VI. If you're looking for him to be a romantic hero, this film isn't for you. He's a hero in it, certainly, but a bashful, self-doubting, uptight one. It's painful to watch him literally stammer through speeches and conversations, even with his daughters - the scene in which he tells them a bedtime story will make you sigh and wince at the same time. I don't know how or with whom Colin Firth prepared for the role, but he was stunning. The gulping, the hesitations, the furtive nervous looks. The man did his homework, that's for sure.

Helena Bonham Carter played Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, George's wife. She gave an incredibly balanced performance - sympathy with George's problems but not sinking into pity, an authoritative royal manner but not dictatorial or annoying, and just enough wit and humor to make her fun. I suspect a great debt is owed to the queen mum for supporting George throughout his reign.

Geoffrey Rush is the king's speech therapist, Lionel Logue. He's portrayed as also something of a psychotherapist, as there is some emphasis on the emotional and mental things that can make a stammer worse or better. An interesting aspect of this relationship is how the therapist takes the king out of himself, tries to get him to relax, insists on calling him "Bertie" (the king's full name was Albert Frederick Arthur George, and he chose "George" as his name on becoming king, supposedly in a move to provide continuity from his father, who was George V). Lionel is a bit eccentric, but sympathetic with those who have trouble speaking, and he's good at his job. You learn some interesting things about him during the preparation for George VI's coronation. There are a few scenes that focus on Lionel's acting ability - I'm not sure what the point of them was, I have to admit.

Most of the funny scenes occur between Lionel and George, especially when Lionel points out that when George gets angry and starts swearing, the stammer disappears. I think it's this scene that got the film its R rating. The St Edward's chair scene is the tipping point between them, and really, the whole point of the story - everyone has a voice; if someone takes it away from you, or suppresses it, or mangles it, take it back, even if it means getting help to do so. There was great rapport between these actors to make the relationship appear believable.

Timothy Spall makes a great Winston Churchill, without going overboard into parody. Derek Jacobi is the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he probably has the worst line in the film (after Colin Firth finally makes a successful speech, he responds by saying, "I'm speechless!"). Jennifer Ehle is Lionel's wife (coincidentally, she was Lizzie Bennett to Colin Firth's Darcy in Pride and Prejudice). They only have one little scene together. I liked the parallel of her support of her husband and Elizabeth B-L's support of her own.  Subtle, but well done.

The climax of the film is George VI's speech to the nation in which he announces that England was now at war with Germany. He starts out hesitating and halting, but Lionel is right there with him, coaching him through it in a small, claustrophobic-looking room. The background music for this scene is the second movement from Beethoven's 7th Symphony. A great piece, and one I'm putting on my list to learn for cello someday. Perhaps the way she does it.

One of the captions at the end of the film states that Lionel was with George for all of his speeches and that they were friends for the rest of their lives. George even inducted Lionel into the Royal Victorian Order, which is only given out of gratitude to people who perform a personal service for a monarch.

I'm saving the gushing for the very end - thank me as you will. I really wanted to see this movie when I first heard about it - partly because I thought the premise was intriguing and partly because I wanted to see if Colin Firth could pull it off. I was not disappointed on either front. I loved this movie. I can't remember the last movie I saw that I could say that about. I've heard Oscar rumors about Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. It would be well deserved for both.