All Hail The King

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2011)

Giving a public speech has always be a difficult thing to do for most of the people. Not everyone could deliver it well. you could simply change your job if it doesn't suit you. But it will not be that simple when you are a King. King George VI is the father of Queen Elizabeth II. Thiz is the story about the early years of his reign in 1920-1940s. For his difficulty of public speaking, to heal his stammer, he hires an Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and learns it through some unorthodox techniques. Later, in addition to that process they bound to some manhood relationships and find greater meaning of life. The movie is directed by Tom Hooper who is known before for a movie about the famous football club Leeds United in "The Damned United" (2009). In thiz film, he applies many unusual styles. The cinematography is very interesting. In one moment he puts the face of the characters precise in the middle of the screen, leaving significant unusual distance. In another moment, he puts the object precisely in the lower left of the screen. Most of the times, everything looks even different, he provides three dimensional view with his concave perspective. It is eccentric but works quite well. Those techniques emphasize the honesty and integrity through its story-telling. But the element that makes thiz movie works really well, it's Colin Firth who transforms his body and soul to be Duke of York or better known as King George VI. I could feel his effort and weakness clearly in his complex character. No doubt is one of Firth's best performances of all-time. The other great role that deserves to be mentioned is Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Queen Elizabeth. Thiz is one of the rare times I find that she could be so normal, after her previous roles that were mostly Gothic. Guy Pearce is quite convincing too as his older brother who is forced to abdicate, Edward VIII. The small but interesting role also comes from Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill. Last time, the Director Tom Hooper lifted incredible story about football, he didn't get much attention although it was a great movie as well. Now with the same quality of work, plus extraordinary performance from Colin Firth, he surely will get more attention than before. That's the difference when you take the story between football and real monarchy. It needs a great speech to be a great leader, but it needs a great heart to be a great King.
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