Fine film with only the slightest whiff of the waxworks.

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2011)

Judging from few of the reviews, some viewers of this excellent film have appeared to let their anti-monarchical sentiments get the better of them. I will say at the onset that Iam a bit of an Anglophile, and that while Iam hardly an apologist for the British monarchy( I really don't give a darn about Bill and Kates nuptials, and I pity Rowan Williams for having to explain the sacrament of marriage to them.), I also find most of the trendy knee-jerk criticism of the monarchy boring. Having said that, I found this a profoundly moving,well acted, richly detailed film. It was not a startlingly innovative example of cinematic art, and it had few deep insights into the human condition. The greatest strength of the film was its wonderful acting. Colin Firth was superb as an well-meaning but emotionally crippled, limited, man thrust into the tragicomic status of a monarch.Geoffrey Rush was very good as his therapist, both a healer and a frustrated actor.The always underrated Guy Pearce captured the flippancy, decadence, nd essential nihilism of Edward the seventh. Helena Bonham Carter was excellent as the devoted wife.
There were moments of stiffness and "historical pageant' in some of's the supporting roles.( Hey there's Churchill! There's Chamberlain! There's Baldwin!") But this didn't feel all too much like an extended episode of Masterpiece Theater.