Charming insight into the personal troubles of the royal family

Rating: 9/10 (1 February 2011)

Due to the hype surrounding it, it's almost impossible to critically review the film. 12 Oscar nominations is a good indicator of quality- you can't really argue against that, can you? But despite the hype, I've managed to formulate some sort of critical opinion.
The King's Speech is unashamedly a crowd pleaser. After the death of his father and the abdication of his brother Edward, the Duke of York, or "Bertie" as Lionel calls him, must take his place on the throne and become King George VI. Unfortunately he is plagued by a speech impediment. Will he overcome it with the help of unconventional failed actor Lionel Logue? Will Logue also help him to overcome his personal troubles? I think you know the answer.
So, did Colin Firth deserve his Oscar nomination? Watching his performance, he deserves to win (and the odds are that he'll do so). Firth's attempt at a stammer could easily have come off as ridiculous but it is painfully convincing. Every time you hear Bertie choke as he tries to speak, you can't help but wince and hope that the adorable emotionally crippled duke will not only overcome his speech impediment, but will finally escape from the shadow of his older brother. And the parallel between Bertie's stepping up to the throne and Colin Firth stepping up to collect his first Oscar is just too brilliant to ignore. Just like George VI's public, we are all expecting a great speech.
Helena Bonham Carter does well as the Duchess of York. Did she deserve an Oscar nomination? As Bertie's loving supportive wife, she's certainly a good supporting actress. Really, she should have won Best Actress for her stunning performance in Wings of the Dove and so I have no complaints if she scoops Best Supporting Actress this year.
The final acting nomination is for Geoffery Rush as Best Supporting Actor. The bromance between Lionel and Bertie (for those who aren't familiar with modern teenage slang, "bromance" is a loving platonic relationship between two men) is key to the film and again, Rush offers good support. "Support" is the key word- although Firth is the lead, this is definitely an ensemble film. It's hard to fault any of the performances.
I'm hardly going to go through and judge whether The King's Speech deserves to win all 12 Oscars, but it deserves the 12 nominations. This is a well-made film and it's suitably British enough to be a strong contender for winning Best Picture. It may be wonderfully populist Oscar bait, but it's so easy to fall in love with the film that you won't care.