A tale of friendship, family and the beauty of language

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2011)

In 1924, the new invention of radio gives King George V his first opportunity to address his people all around the world. For the monarch and his subjects, it is a great and historic moment; for his second son, Prince Albert Duke of York, it is a nightmare. Albert, or "Bertie" as he is referred to by his family, suffers from a crippling stammer, one that makes his duties at court difficult, and the task of public speaking nearly impossible. In desperation, his wife Duchess Elizabeth reaches out to Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist living in London, whose unorthodox methods may be the future king's final hope. The subject matter may seem low-key, and the stakes likewise rather minuscule, but director Tom Hooper, with the considerable help of his first rate cast, turns this seemingly unremarkable real life tale of a stuttering king into a film filled with emotion and gentle humour, and one that is an absolute pleasure to watch.
Although The King's Speech is set in the world of royalty, the heart of the film deals with far less grandiose, far more human themes. Early sequences introduce us to the Prince and his loving wife and young daughters, while the eventual friendship between the stammering monarch and his quirky doctor forms the backbone of the plot. Amusing and often very touching, scenes like these are also lent an intimate feel thanks to the films warm cinematography and production design; by contrast, low angles and elaborate formal costumes dominate scenes of regality, making it easy to understand why Bertie feels so intimidated and overwhelmed. In every scene, Hooper is able to capture, with sometimes just a single shot, the tone of the setting. Likewise, Alexandre Desplat beautiful score imbues the film with a charm and grace in some moments, majesty and circumstance in others.
The acting in The King's Speech is uniformly superb. Obvious difficulties of affecting a speech impediment aside, Firth's work as the stammering King is spectacularly moving, sympathetic and filled with relatable frustration. Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter are almost as impressive – the former is endlessly likable as Lionel Logue, while Carter plays her role as Bertie's wife the Duchess of York with the perfect combination of love, restraint and the slightest of superiority. Beyond these leading three, Guy Pierce and Michael Gambon are both believable and intensely unpleasant as the sniveling Prince of Wales and the domineering George V, and the rest of the cast is filled out nicely by veteran British character actors including Derek Jacobi and Timothy Spall.
The King's Speech has already been labeled by some as typical awards-bait; the kind of formulaic dramatic picture that Academy members can safely vote for over more energetic or perhaps interesting films. Admitedly, there are one or two lines of dialogue that felt a little overly inspirational, and a few character decisions that seem to serve drama rather than common sense (as well as a rather glaring plot flaw that, had any characters acknowledged it, would have rendered the tension in the climax non-existent). However, these moments are few and far between, and although the film may prove the easy choice come Oscar night, that seems an unfair criticism to level against the men and woman who strived to make this film such a good one. And as a tale of friendship, family and the beauty of language, The King's Speech is certainly that.