Long Live The King's Speech!

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2011)

Colin Firth. Need I say more? If I DO, then go see this movie and you'll agree he is one of the finest actors around. But there's no one in this film that isn't wonderful: Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, and Derek Jacobi (who practically cornered the market on stuttering himself by playing both Claudius and Alan Turing) to name but a few. The actors manage to affectionately recall their real-life counterparts without aping them. On a par with Firth is the brilliant Geoffrey Rush, and Australian playing an Australian. Despite being a 'root for the underdog' scenario, the script nicely manages to skirt cliché and be warm, witty and restrained - all at the same time. In the past, the Queens of Great Britain have gotten their fair share of screen time (Elizabeth is a mere child here), so it is refreshing and enlightening to see its Kings so wonderfully illuminated. Long Live The King's Speech!