The King's Speech: a surprisingly eloquent film

I know, its taken me a very long time to see this film, so unfortunately have had the hype built up for this whole time too. So, I really did enjoy the movie BUT it wasn't the experience I was expecting. A friend of mine said it was the best film she had seen in years...I would actually say Colin Firth's last serious piece A Single Man is better. Controversial I know.

That being said The King's Speech did live up to the acting talent and fully deserved all the Oscars and Baftas it received. I think of all the films in the Best Film category at the Oscars The Kings Speech was the rightful winner, it has the best direction, story, acting, and general feel compared to its rivals.

Of course everybody, especially the Academy, loves a Royal based movie, especially one with such controversy as the abdication of a King for his American lover. This is an underdog story, one that we Brits excel at, the unassuming hero, especially one with a speech impediment, is somebody everyone can get behind and support. Colin Firth does a simply brilliant job as Prince Albert, later King George VI, a man with an imposing family and an equally imposing future, struggling to be a good husband and father all the while coping with his stutter. He is also rather short tempered, something I did not expect, especially how angry he gets toward his family. However Colin also displays admirable fatherly connection to the young Elizabeth and Margaret (played magnificently by Freya Wilson and Ramona Marquez), pretending to be a penguin and working through his stutter as his utterly patient and grown up girls listen.

Support for Colin comes in several forms, two being his children, then his wife played by Helena Bonham-Carter and his speech therapist in the form of Geoffrey Rush - both remarkable and BAFTA worthy performances. Helena provides a sincere portrait of the Queen Mother, whom we all in Britain I feel safe to say adored during her lifetime. She is a sweet and loving wife, stoic as all Royal women are, and a wonderful support for the future king. She is the one who finds Rush, a charismatic Australian speech therapist who takes on the load of having a Royal on his books deftly and without much change in his demeanor. I do not know much about Lionel Logue and his influence on King George, but by all accounts - his own diaries included - he and the sovereign were friends of sorts, and he was relied upon for his expertise for many years. Rush takes on the task of teaching Firth to speak publicly with relish, enjoying the familial relationships, even displaying typical husbandly cowardice when faced with a wife completely surprised by the Queen sitting in her parlour as he hides in the back room with the King.

I feel after watching this film I know the Royal family a little more, which makes me sincerely hope that the facts presented in these two hours were not skewed, I loved seeing the young Queen Elizabeth, and the normal family time they managed to create in the circumstance of war and upheaval of position.

I did really enjoy this film, but I would warn people not to listen to all the hype, take it for what it is and don't push your hopes sky high, because no matter how good a film is you will always feel just a little let down if it has been put upon a pedestal, as this film had been to me.