Excellent and highly recommended

Rating: 9/10 (19 February 2011)

My expectations before watching The King's Speech were not very high, because I expected to find one of those movies which are too light and absolutely inconsequential but at the same time adorned with the refinement and affected charm from the modern British art-house cinema. However, I took a very pleasant surprise with The King's Speech, because it ended up being a hugely entertaining, occasionally touching (without falling into the sentimentality) and very satisfactory experience.
There are many historical elements in the screenplay from The King's Speech, like for example, the social scandal which altered the hereditary line from the English crown and the threatening shadow from the Nazi expansion which would end up provoking World War II, which brings a good context about the importance of the diction and rhetorical talents from the governors. But basically, The King's Speech is a fascinating tale about the "bromance" between Prince Albert (1895-1952) and Dr. Lionel Logue (1880-1953), whose relationship begins based on the need from the first one to overcome his stuttering and is then extended to the mutual comprehension from their respective personalities. And I think that the story also works as an examination of the class differences in the United Kingdom, as well as of the monarchical traditions which have always provoked so much division between the people.
And besides of all those interesting narrative levels, we have the great performances from Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, which are absolutely credible and overflowing of passion without reaching the theatrical exaggerations we occasionally find in period films. As their respective characters' wives, Helena Bonham Carter and Jennifer Ehle also bring excellent works. And I also liked the performance from Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill (1874-1965) very much...I have always thought that this actor was born for this character, and after seeing his short performance in this movie I confirmed that, so I hope that if one day someone decides to make a Churchill's biography, they choose Spall.
Many period films put the emphasis on the decorations and costumes, but The King's Speech is more interested in examining the psychology from its characters and their emotional growth. So, whoever goes to see this film expecting to admire lavish dances from the royalty or monarchic protocols will feel disappointed, because most of the story is developed into offices, cabins and a consulting room. However, that does not avoid The King's Speech from being visually impressive, thanks to cinematographer Danny Cohen and production designer Eve Stewart, who bring unique colors and features to every scene, emphasizing every single visual detail in order to enrich the sober style from the narrative. The only fail I found on The King's Speech is that there was a brief moment which was a bit dull to me; however, that does not avoid me from enthusiastically recommending it as an excellent film which is absolutely deserving of all the acclamation it has received so far.