Engrossing if not perfect

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2011)

I expected to be bored by parts of this movie but wasn't. It's just a speech impediment but they managed to make it moving. You feel for the King and what his burden and duty was. The historical events surrounding are nicely added in like the abdication and coming war.
The acting is competent. Colin Firth does a good job as the belligerent but well intentioned king. His stammer is well done not annoying and spontaneous looking. His outbursts may have been a bit overdone and coarse for a King - perhaps for dramatic effect. Helena Bonham as the Queen is more likable not her usual over the top self. Geoffrey Rush is fascinating to watch. The pace and screenplay are good. Guy Pearce was a bit out of place as the Prince of Wales - not aristocratic enough. The actress playing Wallis wasn't ugly enough.
A couple of faults. It would have been better to speed up the earlier part of the movie and cover a much longer time period through WWII to show the importance of speeches during the dark days of the war. The score was wrong. Using music of the German composer Beethoven, in a movie about England entering into war with Germany was a wrong choice. I know there aren't that many great English pieces of music but still German?
Enjoyed it more than Helen Mirren's "The Queen" because the scope of the storyline was more interesting. A deserving Oscar win.