King's Speech Review

The King's Speech follows the life of the last king of England, from his rise to the throne to the speech impediment that leaves him unable to communicate properly with the rest of the world.

Colin Firth stars as a convincing George VI who is horrified when he finds himself about to take over the reins as king, as his father is dead and his brother played by Guy Pearce abdicates the throne to marry an American divorsee rather than take on the responsiblilities of being king. As being king entails a large amount of speech making Bertie dreads being king, as he will have to speak convincingly to the public which he believes will cause him great embarrassment if he stutters or pauses for a significant amount of time which has happened in the past.

His supportive wife, Elizabeth (Helena Boham Carter) decides that Bertie, more now then ever needs a speech therapist who can actually help him, as they had struggled to find a decent one in the past, which is where Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) comes into the picture with his effective yet eccentric methods as he slowly befriends the king and gains his trust.

The film has a warmth to it as it shows how much George VI is handicapped by his condition and how misunderstood he is by his father and how he actively encouraged his brothers and sisters to tease him because of it. You feel very empathetic to Colin Firth as he struggles to get his words out as we see his speech impediment as a potential result of an oppressive childhood. As a film the plot and the relationship that exists between Bertie and Lionel is engaging and entertaining although Timothy Spall's Churchill did fall slightly below the mark with historical reference. All in all a brilliant film that captures Colin Firth at his best.

(The film was received well at the Oscars, picking up Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Director (Tom Hooper), against very strong competition coming from films like Black Swan and the DVD comes out on April 19th.)