Rather splendid, my good chap

Rating: 8/10 (27 February 2011)

Another week, another Best Picture nominee. And with the Oscars less than a day away, I thought it only fitting to review the film firming as the favourite to knock off David Fincher and The Social Network. That film is The King's Speech, a risky effort by director Tom Hooper with a story that is unique to say the very least. Comprising of an impressive cast including actor's actor Colin Firth, one of my favourites in Helena Bonham Carter and Australia's favourite son, Geoffrey Rush, it more than lives up to its reputation as the film to beat.
Firth is Albert, Duke of York, a man unexpectedly thrust into power as King George VI with his family, and entire country, in disarray. To make matters worse, he suffers from a terrible stammer, which does not bode well for a man required to do his fair share of public speaking on the job. So his wife Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) enlists the help of eccentric Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue to succeed where all others have failed. Lionel and the King proceed to form an unlikely friendship in a grand, royal film of the most intimate degree.
By this stage, Firth has become almost a shoo-in for Best Actor, and for good reason. But perhaps just as important as his performance is the way he is characterised in the film's earliest scenes. Here we have an inherently unpleasant man, whose frustration with being unable to deal with his stammer results in a short temper and bad attitude. It was crucial, then, for Hooper and writer David Seidler to evoke the viewer's sympathy nice and early to ensure we maintain interest in the story and its characters. That is exactly what is achieved in the opening scene as the Duke, utterly petrified, tries his best to deliver a speech in public but manages only a few words before the crowd gives up on him.
I think it was also wise to inject the film with other infrequent sub-plots, while still keeping Bertie and Lionel's burgeoning friendship at the core. The King's Speech deals with, among other things, the death of King George V, the rise to power of his reckless son Edward VIII, and Hitler's initiation of World War Two. Some may have found it easy to be cynical about a British wartime film that deals with nothing but two peoples' friendship, but Hooper denies them this right. Historically accurate or not, these minor plot points keep the film fresh and gracefully compliment the main story.
A key element of the film's impressive depth in storytelling is just how difficult Bertie finds it to overcome his impediment. Where other films might overcome the problem as soon as a breakthrough is made, in The King's Speech the subject constantly regresses, taking him and Lionel back to 'square one', as it were, and suggesting the issue is more complex than first thought. Not only does this compound audience sympathy, but it makes the conclusion more intense and, ultimately, more satisfying.
This is an extremely mature piece of filmmaking, and while I wouldn't hesitate to suggest it to anyone my age, it would come with the disclaimer of 'know what to expect'. And while it isn't my favourite film up for Best Picture this year, I would not complain if it walked away with the top prize in, oh, ten hours from now.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review.*