Five Reasons to see King's Speech

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2010)

1. The actors - Firth compels attention and sympathy, Rush is irresistible, and Bonham Carter brightens every scene she enters. The supporting roles are studded with familiar British actors (Jacoby, Ely, etc.) being, and celebrating being, very British. 2. The visual experience - Scene after scene that is arresting. Shades of gray predominate. I particularly liked the royal car being led through foggy London streets. 3. The story - Revisits familiar dramatic ground, the lead up to the war and the English royal family, but finds new life by focusing on the future King's struggle to live up to the role thrust upon him 4. The writing - Provides a string of satisfying payoffs on the way to a solid dramatic conclusion, with witty repartee between the principles that is amusing but never overdone 5. The period - Costumes,settings, radio paraphernalia, autos, streets, palaces, royal hobby horses, ordinary British homes, everything fits together to conjure the time, which is really starting to feel distant.