Speechless!

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2013)

let's face it: 2010 wasn't the best year for movies. A year full of terrible reboots, squeals and snore-fests that gave critics a lot to complain about. When the Oscars came about in 2011, I was really annoyed that the only great movie that year, INCEPTION, was snubbed for best picture. Who was the mysterious larcenist? none other than the Kings speech. The king's speech flew under my radar, believe it or not, I never seen any of the trailers. So lately, after looking into the positive reviews, I sat down and watched the film that captured even our own Queen Elizabeth II's attention.
The King's speech is a historical drama about King George VI, the monarch who reigned over the United Kingdom in the time of one of the most devastating wars in history. However, George lacked something that strong leaders required; Fluent speech. As a victim of a speech impediment, King George seeks out a therapist to help develop him vocally before he can speak publicly.
I'm going to say it now - The kings speech blew me away in numerous ways. The sheer depth and emotion of the film lifts it high above any other film in the genre, with beautiful acting, music, cinematography and script- the bare bones of an instant classic.
lets start with the acting. Now I haven't seen many Colin Firth movies bar Mama Mia (which didn't leave a good impression), but his performance as King George VI was among the best of the modern era, second to DDL's performance in Lincoln. You really invested in his character. Playing a person with a stutter is very hard to pull off effectively, but Firth hits all the right notes. Going into this film I believed that he would pull of the cliché performance and that his voice would be perfect by the end of the movie- but no! Actually, he never truly fixes his voice and even at the final climatic speech, George still struggles to get a word across. This is what makes his performance great. He shows how hard it really is, in that even with months of practise, he still finds it hard to talk to his own brother. Props to Colin! All the other actors are exceptional also, with the likes of Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter (serious role??). The Kings speech shines in the acting category like no other British film.
If your a historian, like me, you probably know this story inside out, and may also be annoyed at the slight liberties they took in writing the film's script. However, in order to get the appropriate emotional response, I believe it was necessary. If I was to complain about the film, it would be that the plot does become predictable at times, and there are many scenes that you are able to guess the outcomes before they happen, but the sheer presentation and delivery of the script overpowers these insignificant factors and make you forget about all that. I don't believe many of you watch movies for their camera angles, (and if you do, join the club!0, but I just loved the cinematography in this film. Its hard to describe the movement of the camera without showing you the movie, but if you watch the movie in full HD and look out for how each scene is filmed, you too will be blown away.
Finally, I cannot Finnish this review without at least mentioning the musical score. The score is the heart and soul of this very movie that inflects some very strong emotions in many of the scenes. The constant piano playing may be an annoyance to all you heavy metal junkies out there but if your into classical, or just music in general, if nothing else at least buy the films soundtrack.
Am I still annoyed at Inception's best picture snub?Of coarse! but that's another review for another time. What got the award is a stylish, sleek, artsy movie, with breath taking visuals, acting and sound. I left this film proud to be a British citizen and wanted to grab the nearest microphone, get up in public and give a inspirational speech. Regardless to anyone that would care about me doing that, any movie that gives me such an urge deserves praise in my book.