The King's Speech (2010)
Genre: Drama / History
Duration: 118 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / Australia / United States
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb score:
8,0 (720.373)
Releasedate: 26 November 2010
The King's Speech plot
"Find your voice."
After his brother abdicates, George rather unwittingly becomes the new King of England and goes through life as George VI. Unfortunately, he stutters, which doesn't really sound like a royal. For this he enlists the help of the unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue. This results in a series of unusual techniques and a special friendship.
Actors and actresses
King George VI
Lionel Logue
Queen Elizabeth
King Edward VIII
Winston Churchill
King George V
Myrtle Logue
Archbishop Cosmo Lang
Princess Elizabeth
Princess Margaret
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
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- 3094 messages
- 8007 votes
If you listen to historical recordings of George VI, you will hear that he mainly inserted a lot of pauses, also in illogical places, but that he rarely repeated sounds. Colin Firth manages to make that stutter not a faint comic effect but a painful hindrance. The cause may have been psychological. The monarch was afraid of his father and felt the pressure of obligations and expectations weigh on him. He couldn't be himself; had to write right-handed while being left-handed.
Portraits of his noble ancestors stare at him reproachfully. The large microphone is shown from a frog's perspective to make it more menacing. Then his frightened face comes in close-up. The technology, costumes and sets of the 1930s are well reconstructed. Certain details don't seem right, but you are nevertheless carried away to another time. The speech at the end is beautifully edited, with solemn music by Beethoven and reactions from audiences from all walks of life.
There is a great side role for Geoffrey Rush. Lionel Logue was Australian, but it is likely that he spoke with a British accent, the norm for eloquent English. He resembles a puppeteer in control, but with good intentions. There is a contradiction between the wives of the two brothers. Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is the gentle force in the background who supports her husband; Wallis Simpson the temptress who pulls Edward VIII into the abyss.
That subjective angle was also present in Shakespeare's royal dramas. David Seidler built on that tradition when he wrote the script. He had already toyed with the idea for a play in the 1970s, but had to wait until after Elizabeth's death in 2002. The result expresses a love for the English language and a familiarity with British history.
Sergio Leone
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- 4247 messages
- 2931 votes
Good.
Long delayed, this The King's Speech. Unjustified. Somewhat syrupy, sometimes even a bit dusty and this one doesn't have the real charm that "costume dramas" can have.
But I find the setting interesting, especially if the run-up to World War II occasionally creeps into the story.
In addition, the Colin Firth - Geoffrey Rush tandem works just fine. Not masterfully good, but just decent. Firth is a bit boring, but in a way it fits in with the interaction with the more flamboyant Lionel Logue as portrayed by Rush.
It is also a shame that the makers go a little way out of line towards the end. With a dramatic sounding string orchestra, the speech is pretended to be a milestone in world history, while I would rather have had it a bit bittersweet - after all, it is a sad message at the start of a sad period. It doesn't have to be interpreted as "victory".
3.5
Shadowed
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- 10149 messages
- 6072 votes
Average Oscar winner.
That may sound a bit strange, but I think these kind of movies are really the typical kind of movies that win the Oscars. Usually based on a true story, with a big-name cast and a drama story. This one is certainly no different.
Firth is doing quite well nonetheless. However, despite the fact that he is sometimes quite strong, the English humor (probably intended that way) is sometimes a bit too forced and strongly turned on. It's a bit too awkward to be really funny and too much English humor never really suits me.
Rush is also above average, but otherwise gets surprisingly little to prove himself with. It is mainly the typical "side character" where you can draw the chemistry and bond between Firth and Rush from the start.
Besides, I smelled little chemistry between the two. Nowhere is it compelling, moving, funny or with any impact. Quite entertaining, there's just enough going on to keep it interesting, but for an Oscar winner with such an average, I simply expect more special materials.
What did work well is the atmosphere. There is clearly an old atmosphere that is well portrayed and some scenes are portrayed with a chilling atmosphere. Just think of the first speech in the stadium but also the last "King's Speech". So it's all good in terms of direction.
But otherwise not too special in my opinion. You get through it quickly and the atmosphere is done correctly, but otherwise there is little spark in the chemistry and then you just have actors who act well. Perhaps it would have been better if the somewhat silly humor had been turned on a little less forced.
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