Not quite as buh-bare-bare-brilliant as they'd have you believe...

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2011)

Apart from a couple of expletive-filled outbursts from Prince Bertie (Colin Firth) as he undergoes radical speech therapy under the unorthodox Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), The King's Speech is rather an old-fashioned film which is quite in keeping with the era in which the action takes place. Both Firth and Rush (and Helena Bonham-Carter as a rather foxy Queen Mum) give immaculate performances, although it was Firth who received most of the kudos thanks to his Best Actor Oscar nod. It must be tough giving a convincing performance as an habitual stammerer – every little twitch and hesitation as Firth's character attempts to unlock the words from his throat has to appear entirely involuntary – and so it's probably fair to say that Firth was completely deserving of his awards. Only a badly miscast Guy Pearce as Bertie's older brother fails really to hit the mark.
The story moves at a sedate pace as it chronicles Bertie's growing anxiety as events conspire to propel him ever closer to the British throne and a vital role as the voice of Britain as it enters war with Germany in 1939. Despite this slow pace, you get drawn into his plight so that his final rallying speech to the nation – and never has such a dour, forbidding speech had such a feel-good element to it – comes across as a Rocky-like moment of triumph. Perhaps this incredibly strong climax goes some way to explaining the remarkable media and audience response to the film as, prior to this, although it is clearly well-written, directed and acted, the film fails to stand out as anything out of the ordinary.