Interesting story with wit and humour...and heart. 9.5/10

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2010)

The title of this movie is itself ambiguous...referring at once to the way the future king stammered when he spoke as well to the first speech he would have to give to his people, on the occasion of Britain declaring war against Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. So, it is a historical drama with, no doubt, some artistic licence. From the description above, one can see that it was an especially bad time for someone with a stammer to have to face up to the public duty of addressing his subjects via radio broadcasts. Long before that defining moment for King George VI (played by Colin Firth), his wife, the Duchess of York (later to be Queen Elizabeth, played by Helena Bonham Carter), seeks someone to help overcome her husband's stammer. She finds Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), an Australian with seemingly good credentials for the task.
Despite this unlikely subject for a movie, it does have wit and humour and warmth...from many of the principal characters. It also has some strong swearing at times, though this amusingly handled. The ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. Some of the actors provide glimpses of regality...I can believe that Helena Bonham Carter in some glimpses does indeed look like what I imagine the Duchess of York looked like in those years. She also conveys great charm and warmth...a pleasant change from the decomposing sorts she has been drawn to play in recent years. Guy Pearce as the soon to be King Edward VIII does look aristocratic in some aspects in scenes...or at least in a Hollywood kind of way.
The royal couple's young daughters are pretty and nice. The actress playing the future Princess Margaret reminded me of the girl who played the daughter in the UK sitcom "Outnumbered". It turns out that it is the same actress. One would have been most amused if Princess Margaret in this movie had asked numerous probing questions of her father...say, during his bedtime story. Sadly, this was not to be...one would like the answers to questions such as "What would Jesus do if he was attacked by a polar bear?"!
One does get personal insight into this family...Prince Albert of York (that's the later King George VI...played by Colin Firth...still...oh do keep up!) is a very damaged human being as represented here. Some of his adventures with his brother are jaw dropping...and Geoffrey Rush's subtlety is marvellous when being told of them by Bertie (still played by Colin Firth). On the other hand, Elizabeth does tell a lovely story as to why she married Bertie...it would be nice if it were true.
In a similar vein, one may be surprised to hear the slander spoken by the Duchess of York, concering the nature of Mrs. Wallis Simpson's hold over Edward, the next in line to the throne. That was not news to me, but I had forgotten it, perhaps. This may be one of those 'artistic licence' issues. Was the slander true? Or just a narky, plebian insult to hurled on to someone who dared to ignore aristocratic conventions? Interesting that the Duchess is made to voice that slander in any case.
A fascinating glimpse into a bygone era. Bertie does seem to hold a modern view of the family in this movie though (he calls it "The firm"). Ironically, he also holds atavistic views of the family, as witnessed in his reaction to Logue's suggestion that he (Bertie) could be king...a view mirrored by Edward's analysis of what Bertie is up to with his speech therapy.
Lastly, this movie may even be educational for those with speech disorders...and inspiring too. There are some 'interesting' approaches to the disorder.
Can't say that I've seen all the movies which have been talked about in relationship to Academy Awards, but I like Helena Bonham Carter's subtle turn as Elizabeth. It would not kill me to see Colin Firth win a Best Actor award either, but one wonders if stammering is sufficiently "disabled" to appeal to the Academy! Geoffrey Rush would be an acceptable Best Supporting Actor too.