Great Movie!

Rating: 9/10 (31 December 2010)

How does one make a movie out of a serious speech impediment? When one has the director chops of Tom Hopper, the writing skills of David Siedler and the brilliant acting of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush along with a star-studded supporting cast, that's how.
This is a character driven story as the plot is slender. But it still keeps you on the edge of your seat even though the outcome is known. I remember my father talking about the awful speech impediment of George VI and wondering how he ever overcame it and was it a ghost speaker he had on those fiery war era radio broadcasts. Well, now we all know.
The movie is captivating and subtle, full of tender moments and unexpected comedic jolts.
The future king's character is captured perfectly by Colin Firth, a man full of self-doubt and psychologically damaged from an early age. His speech therapist uses extremely unconventional tools to assist him in overcoming his handicap.
I will not lay down spoilers due to the delicacy of the plot. If I have any reservation it is in the open show of affection displayed by the king for his wife and daughters in front of others. Kissing the queen, lifting the daughters. To anyone who has read anything about George VI, this was not in his nature at all, he was a very private, shy person. but that is a tiny whinge in a review of a film that was so utterly splendid in execution and casting.
The supporting cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi. Jennifer Ehle (who starred with Colin Firth in the wondrous version of Pride & Prejudice) and Guy Pearce, all of whom are flawless.
Oscars? Definitely. 9 out of 10.