The King's Speech

A Stuttering Success

I wasn't taught about King George VI very much during high school. During our lessons on the events leading to the Second World War, the attention was centred on Hitler, Chamberlain, and later, Churchill. There was a brief mention about how the King at the time (Edward VIII) abdicated so he could marry a divorced woman, the dreaded "Mrs. Simpson". Obviously, this led my 14 year old brain to imagine Queen Elizabeth II's uncle marrying blue-haired matriarch Marge Simpson. Quite distracting when trying to learn GCSE History. But nothing was said of the ascending King George VI.

The King's Speech chronicles the difficult times of 'pre-King George VI' Prince Albert (Colin Firth) as he suffers with a speech impediment that he developed when he was younger. With the likelihood of him having to take the role of King, he starts to see a speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) to cure his stutter. The two develop a friendship that would last the rest of their lives, as Prince Albert begins to learn the reasons behind his impediment and tries to overcome it before his first live broadcast to the nation.

As I said earlier, I came to The King's Speech with very little knowledge of the subject matter and as a result, I believe that The King's Speech serves as a valuable testament to a lesser-known time in our country's history, as well as an important lesson to the younger generation.

Thanks to brilliant performances of it's main leads, the audience is taken on an emotional journey of one man's struggle to overcome obstacles on his road to the monarchy, both external and internal. We are shown the Prince at his most vulnerable and show how embarrassed he is of his impediment.
Firth does give an amazing performance, following on from his Oscar-nominated role in A Single Man earlier last year, as does Geoffrey Rush as the therapist Lionel Logue. Both performances have been nominated for Oscars and rightfully so, hopefully Firth capturing what he missed out on last year.
The supporting cast also perform well, with Guy Pearce adopting a British accent to play the abdicating King Edward VIII, and Helena Bonham-Carter giving a splendid performance as The Queen Mum (as we now know her).

The King's Speech is not only a drama focusing on one man's stutter, but an analysis of the Royal Family and their role within British society. Just before his first broadcast speech, King George VI questions the very nature of the title 'King', and it's purpose since he cannot form a government or declare war, but decides that he is a representative of the people in their darkest hour, and Hooper definitely shows how George VI, as well as others, inspired the nation in a time of terrible tragedy.

However, the main focus of the film is the friendship between Prince Albert and his speech therapist (Rush). Their scenes together are fantastically written, both producing witty banter and excellent comic timing, despite the aforementioned stutter. Both actors are superbly cast and their chemistry flows from their first scene together.

The director Tom Hooper (The Damned United, John Adams) shows his consistency with creating brilliant dramas, with the cinematography and editing very crisp and smooth. He, as well, has been nominated for Best Director, and the film, for Best Picture. Rightfully so in my opinion. With twelve nominations at this year's Oscars, it's bound to win a few, and here's hoping it sweeps the board.

Rating - 9/10