Likable but shallow

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2011)

I enjoyed this film but apart from Geoffrey Rush's fine acting and some amusing snippets of dialogue, it did not strike me as an Oscar contender.
The film covers the period between the end of the reign of George V and the early days of George VI (Colin Firth).
Firth plays Prince Albert ("Bertie" who later took the name of George on his coronation) as a character demanding our sympathy. A young man struck by a debilitating stammer from childhood who was never expected to become king.
Apart from the speeches, which are part of the historical record, all the dialogue comes from the writer's imagination. Not in itself a bad thing but some of the exchanges appeared unlikely.
Go and see by all means but don't expect to remember it a few days later.
Edited 28 February 2011: Shows how much I know!