you can keep your shilling

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2011)

It is 1939 and Britain's defence of the realm against the impending Nazi blitzkrieg depends on the king not stammering during a radio broadcast.
Of course, the war effort was in fact more complex, but hats off to the myth-makers responsible for The King's Speech in spinning this tale so skillfully towards such a conclusion. History and films should never be conflated, and anyone who wants to harp on about "historical inaccuracies" in a movie should have their library card confiscated.
Leaving the real King George VI aside, the cinematic regent finds his selfish big brother abdicating at a time when the nation is facing its darkest days. He employs a maverick Aussie speech therapist to help him with his speech impediment, and their bromance culminates in the king successfully addressing the nation, in turn kick-starting the war effort and taking the first step to giving Jerry what-ho.
Firth is suitably regal and vulnerable. As for Geoffrey Rush - has he ever made a bad film? Bonham Carter, as usual, drips aristocratic ice. Guy Pearce plays bad guy Edward a shade too buffoonish, but you have to expect heightened contrasts when cinema takes on history.
There have to be thousands of stories from WWII that are more inspiring, and significant, than the tale of one extremely privileged being's attempts to get a speech right, but fair dues to the film-makers for keeping this tale credulous. And making me care.