The King's Speech (2010)

England's Prince Albert must ascend the throne as King George VI, but he has a speech impediment. Knowing that the country needs her husband to be able to communicate effectively, Elizabeth hires Lionel Logue, an Australian actor and speech therapist, to help him overcome his stammer. An extraordinary friendship develops between the two men, as Logue uses unconventional means to teach the monarch how to speak with confidence. - synopsis from IMDB

Cast - full listing

Genres

drama, history

Facts & Figures

Directed by Tom Hooper.

Rated 8.0 on IMDB from 529794 votes.

Runtime: 118 min.

Review

Movies that are hyped up tend to be disappointing a lot of the time, but The King’s Speech is a notable exception to that. With a grand lineup for a cast and a non-typical topic, this movie has all the right ingredients and lives up to its potential.

Silence is not very popular in movies these days. There is almost always someone talking or otherwise there are sounds effects of things blowing up or music in the background. From the title you might have guessed there’s also a lot of talking in this movie, but because the story revolves around the speech impediment of the main character, there are a lot of tense gaps. I think Hooper has managed to balance this very well. Many of us will recognize the awkwardness of letting a stammerer finish a sentence, patiently trying to avoid jumping in to break the tension. This comes across very well in various scenes without unnecessarily lengthening the story. It’s essential to the understanding and dosed precisely right.

Fortunately, the story also portrays a rather enjoyable growing relationship between two entirely different people. There are some fantastic dialogues and there is plenty of humour to go around. It’s the type of humour you have to like I suppose, slightly sarcastic at the situation they find themselves in, but I had lots of fun watching the bond grow between the two. I especially liked the way the hesitance on both sides surfaced every once in a while to emphasize the gradual acceptance of the new friendship.

It has been a while since the music had any major part in a new movie I’ve seen and I was glad that The King’s Speech had a wonderful soundtrack to accompany the story. Simple, elegant and precisely the right tone. It’s so easy when you know how, I guess.

If you’re after a movie with some excellent acting, look no further. Firth has, rightly so, been nominated for quite some awards already and will probably win some of them. He deserves it for being able to play this role in a very insightful manner. The main character is not a stuttering child, but a prince with a lot of life experience and responsibilities. He’s aware of his problem, but doesn’t let it get the better of him. The emotions of a proud man who is struggling with a number of problems at the same time and still soldiering on because of his sense of duty are very, very well done. I would fully recommend a night out to see The King’s Speech. You’ll be lost for words.

Seen: 19 Feb 2011