Cinema Verdict Review: The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech

OPENING: 12/10/2010

STUDIO: Weinstein Company

RUN TIME: 118 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
When God couldn’t save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could.

Opening Statement
I suppose it would be easy enough to simply dismiss Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech as shameless Oscar bait based on its subject matter. A story about an English monarch attempting to overcome a disability? If that isn’t the sort of thing awards voters salivate over, I don’t know what is. However, truth in reporting requires me to inform you that the inevitable Oscar nominations will be well deserved, as The King’s Speech proves a skillfully crafted, moving and surprisingly entertaining film.

Facts of the Case
Prince Albert, the Duke of York (Colin Firth, A Single Man) has been attempting to overcome a considerable stammer ever since childhood. He’s seen a variety of doctors and specialists, none of whom have been able to provide him with a solution. Just when Albert is on the verge of giving up hope, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter, Big Fish) introduces him to a new therapist. Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) takes a dramatically new approach to the problem, demanding to be regarded as Albert’s equal during their sessions (casually calling him “Bertie” rather than the traditional “your highness”) and attempting to explore deeply personal parts of his new patient’s past. Though Albert bristles at this approach early on, he agrees to continue seeing Lionel after making surprising progress during their first session. As the Duke of York eventually takes his place as King George VI and a second world war looms on the horizon, Lionel attempts to help Albert develop the ability to speak to the nation with confidence.

The Evidence
One can certainly see why Albert Frederick Arthur George was so hesitant to accept his role as King of the United Kingdom. In that position, he could do little in terms of taking political action to help lead the country through a difficult time; he could only lead and inspire the nation with his words. Alas, words were the one thing Albert found it immensely difficult to produce. He was England’s symbolic ruler rather than its actual one, and as such he was required to be an exceptional symbol. The King’s Speech frames the story of his therapy as more than simply a man’s personal journey to overcome a speech impediment; the morale of the nation rests on his ability to speak with authority and conviction. What would the people have thought upon hearing a king nervously stammer his way through a speech on the eve of war?

And yet, for all the weighty context placed upon this tale, at its core the film is really the intimate story of a developing friendship between two very different men. Such relationships were at the core of Tom Hooper’s HBO miniseries John Adams (which explores the occasionally hostile yet ultimately tender relationship between Adams and Thomas Jefferson) and his film The Damned United (which offers a look at the exasperating yet lovely friendship between coach Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor). The King’s Speech may be his most successful examination of such a relationship to date.

For the most part, Albert comes across as a likable sort of man. He’s a loving husband and father and has a good sense of humor. However, he’s gone through life with a silver spoon in his mouth, and there are unpleasant, deep-rooted reflexes that occasionally pop up when Lionel undercuts his sense of royalty. It takes considerable courage for Lionel to risk the biggest job of his career in the name of effective treatment, and similar courage for Albert to put down his guard and permit this uninhibited outsider to explore very private areas of his life. The scenes of give-and-take between the royal monarch and the humble therapist are touching, but the screenplay’s considerable wit and Lionel’s perpetual irreverence prevent these scenes from ever becoming saccharine.

The film is loaded with talented actors (Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi), but most of the weight is carried by Firth and Rush. The former is superbly cast as the titular king, as the actor has always been terrific at essaying characters who seem unable to comfortably express their feelings. Firth provides a more external, literal variation on this idea and aces it; perfectly capturing the occasional fits of rage and the quieter moments of reflection. The actor so effectively depicts Albert’s difficulty that his moments of triumph have a huge impact. Rush seems to be having a splendid time in his role, seeming both playfully antagonistic and genuinely sympathetic during his interactions with Firth. Lionel gets many of the film’s most memorable lines and Rush doesn’t miss a beat on any of them. I loved the inclusion of few scenes depicting Lionel’s domestic life, too, as they tenderly suggest that he has his own collection of unrealized dreams.

The film chooses King George’s 1939 address to the nation on the outbreak of war as its climax, which provides Hooper with the opportunity to stage a tremendous sequence. With simultaneous subtlety and clarity, Hooper, Firth and Rush work together to weave threads from the entire film into this crucial moment. The film blatantly wears its heart on its sleeve at this point, but it’s earned the right to. It’s difficult to complain about a film tying things up in a neat little bow when the bow is as elegantly tied as this.

Closing Statement
The King’s Speech may be Oscar bait, but it isn’t stuffy or pretentious. This is a lovely, superbly crafted, immensely enjoyable movie that’s well worth your time. Hats off to all involved in this splendid production.

The Verdict
10/10

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