Cinema Snark: The King's Speech

And here's my second overdue review of an Oscar-nominated film. (This one's only a week and a half late! Yaaaaaaay)

The King's Speech is fantastic. That's really the simplest way to say it. It's received 12 Oscar nominations, the most of any film this year (the next in line is True Grit, with 10), and could very easily win most of those. It's incredibly well-acted, the direction is beautifully restrained, and the subject matter is fascinating.

There are two stories at work here, either one of which could probably make a good movie on its own: the first is the story of a man named Bertie and his attempts to overcome a debilitating stutter; the second is the story of King George VI, who suddenly became king of a country on the brink of war. (And in case you didn't know, the protagonist of both stories is THE SAME PERSON OMG.) The former story has a much smaller scale than the latter, but the film's integration of the grand and the intimate doesn't feel schizophrenic. In fact, the two enhance each other; the depiction of family life in the British royal family lends a surprising amount of humanity to the narrative, and Bertie's speech therapy is made all the more important by the fact that he has to lead and inspire an entire country.

As for the actors, Colin Firth is amazing in the lead role. He's just a big stuttering royal teddy bear and I wanted to give him a hug the whole time. But beyond his utter adorableness, he gives a wonderful performance--I'm someone whose entire life revolves around use of the voice, and I'm completely blown away by what he was able to do with that stutter. It's incredible, and I can't even imagine how long it took him to master. In terms of the character himself, Bertie is a capable, intelligent man, but is constantly overshadowed by his father and older brother. For him, the most important part of his speech therapy is the chance it gives him to step out of his family's shadow and become a leader in his own right. Firth plays the character beautifully, bringing out George VI's complexities and insecurities and transforming him into a strong-willed leader.

Geoffrey Rush deserves equal praise for his turn as Lionel Logue, the Australian speech therapist (with an encyclopedic knowledge of Shakespeare) who helps Bertie overcome his speech impediment. As Logue, Rush is intelligent and dry-witted (like all the best British people), and demands to be treated as an equal in his lessons, even if his student happens to be the King of England. What starts out as a battle of wills between the quick-tempered Bertie and the calmer but insistent Logue eventually grows into mutual respect, and finally into an adorable friendship. Logue is always there to help his pupil along, whether the king needs to be nudged or dragged kicking and screaming, and the chemistry between the two actors makes the whole thing an utter delight to watch.

Rounding out the main cast is Helena Bonham Carter as George/Bertie's wife, and I believe I speak for the entire country when I say it's absolutely wonderful to see this woman play a normal human being. She's a very talented actress, and though she gained most of her fame by taking weird/crazy roles, it's fantastic to see her play something straight for once. Speaking as a performer, I can say that doing the zany thing is all kinds of fun, but people are much less likely to take you seriously when that's what you make your career on. This role should serve as a reminder to the moviegoing public that yes, she's actually a good actress and not just a one-trick pony. Bonham Carter's Elizabeth is a loving and devoted wife, who is willing to defy her husband's wishes in order to get him the help he needs. She is at turns tender and steely, and incredibly believable.

Firth, Rush, and Bonham Carter were all nominated for Oscars (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress), and I certainly wouldn't complain (or be at all surprised) if all three of them won. The rest of the cast is equally impressive, including Michael Gambon as the ailing King George V, Guy Pearce as Bertie's brother, the short-lived King Edward VIII, and Derek Jacobi as Archbishop Lang. Also appearing is Timothy Spall (Wormtail from the Harry Potter movies) as the most adorably jowly and scowly Winston Churchill EVAR.

The direction by Tom Hooper is simple and elegant, and appropriately lets the actors dominate the screen. There isn't much in the way of visual effects or camera tricks, but everything looks beautiful. Hooper knows how to frame a shot so that it's interesting to look at even when there's just a single person sitting onscreen in silence. It's not a flashy movie by any stretch of the imagination, but everything is filmed with an amazingly artistic restraint. It's so damn pretty.

So, yeah, that's about it for now.

See this movie. It's amazing.