A private struggle, in the public eye

Rating: Null/10 (14 December 2013)

The Kings Speech, (2010), is an inspiring public sharing of a private struggle to triumph over an embarrassing impediment of royal proportion. This film is a telling account, that is respectfully and graciously presented, of Prince Albert, played by Colin Firth, who, second in line to succeed to the throne of his father, King George V, suffers privately from a noticeable case of stammering, which is publicly realized in 1925, upon stammering through a speech he delivers at Wembley Stadium on behalf of his father the King.
Prince Albert's wife Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter, upon witnessing the public humiliation and embarrassment of her husband, and the unproven, and in her opinion uncredited, unestablished, and unwelcome exercises introduced by the Prince's current physician, which in one exercise required that Prince Albert insert 7 marbles into his mouth, and then read aloud from the pages of a given book, and to her and her husband's dismay, became angry when no words at all were able to be spoken, so this understandably infuriated the Prince, as he spewed the marbles from his mouth, and left the room in disgust, thus prompting Princess Elizabeth, to set out in an attempt to locate a highly recommended speech therapist, named Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, and set up a visit to the royal home in hopes of treating and curing the Duke of York, of his stammering.
The use of marbles by the current physician, immediately had me in fond remembrance of another film, which is, My Fair Lady, and the scene in remembrance is where Eliza Doolittle, played by Audrey Hepburn, benefiting from a bet made by her speech therapist, Professor Higgins, played by Rex Harrison, and his business associate, has been instructed to speak specifically rehearsed sentences with a mouth full of marbles, and she is so frustrated at the idea, especially because she is hungry, and exhausted from the days efforts, that she accidentally swallows one of the marbles. It was actually a lighthearted scene which was meant to receive a chuckle or two.
In this film, Prince Albert, is faced with questions he not only does not want to face, but is pressed to confide in a man he considers to be inferior to his worth, and this seemed to fair just as challenging as treating the stammering itself. He fought to keep things private and untold, and he refused at first to be on first names with Lionel, who insisted on calling the Prince, Bertie, which is what the royal family and close friends called him. A very conducive friendship develops between Bertie and Lionel, which will create another of many challenges which will beset the Duke of York.
The lighting and location for this film set the entire mood, and in combination with weather conditions such as fog and rain given to certain scenes, I felt sad, and gloomy, which in turn, I think gave rise to the ability or opportunity to manipulate the color scheme of this film into creating a depressed and defeated mood, and one of melancholy. The lighting accentuated the dreariness and drabness of rooms, and hallways, and made the air seem dense, and cold, and the actions and dialect, of the main characters through verbal and non-verbal expressions showed great continuity and coherence.
I was impressed with the juxtaposition of a place as beautiful and majestic as Buckingham Palace, with gloriously painted ceilings, and warm, inviting colors of gold and red, and tremendous pieces of art and workmanship throughout, that there holds an ugliness, and disturbing disappointment of imperfection among the elegant, superior, flawlessly regal family who in the eyes of lay people, are the epitome of perfect, and that among the strongest of threads, there is weakness, and among the heads of morality, there are infractions. This film appeals to the optical and aural senses, with its pleasant royal dialect, and clever quips, and its emotional support of family, friends.