A Reel Review: THE KING'S SPEECH

For any person who has felt that aching pang of anxiety before speaking in front of a group of people or has had an issue with stuttering, THE KING’S SPEECH may be a severely uncomfortable trip back down memory lane. The opening minutes of SPEECH brings all the pressure and anxiety of public speaking out front-and-center from the personal view of Royal Blood, slowly building up to an uncomfortable atmosphere that educes squirming from the audience. Even if said audience has never felt the anxiety of public speech, the pressures can and will still be felt. That is masterful filmmaking.

With a never-ending life in the public eye, the future King George VI, or Bertie (Colin Firth), is severely inhibited by a stuttering impairment that draws criticism from his royal family and ultimately holds him back as a man. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) enlists the help of Lionel (Geoffrey Rush), an aspiring actor and professional speech therapist. While the future King progresses and regresses, a friendship is formed with Lionel, just as his playboy brother Edward (Guy Pearce), is made King and then booted, forcing the stuttering heir to rise above his problems.

Set in the backdrop of a looming war with Germany (the years before WWII), KING on the surface seems to be a story about Bertie’s personal mission to find his voice (physically and spiritually), and rally a country against insurmountable foes. While the pressures of Bertie’s situation build up, KING manages to sneak up on you. The film also becomes a story about the friendship between two men, and how their very different lives are very similar. With the balance of a nation in limbo, the movie manages to get into the personal side of things.

KING takes about two minutes to get connected with the main character, and even less for the supporting cast. The film is shot and put together in a very personal manner; not only focusing on the people, but on their surroundings as suttle allegories are sneaked in about the film. Also refreshing is the amount of humor that emerges from the story, which always has a feeling of desperation hanging about. The humor is intelligent and timed perfectly, and never uses Bertie’s stuttering as a punching bag. Idiots like Ben Stiller ought to take notice. Director Tom Hooper offers a gentle touch and remarkable eye that makes the overall experience incredibly enjoyable.

Personal performances are nothing short of outstanding. Firth is convincing to the max as he stutters and stammers his way through the film; almost to the point that one has to wonder if the poor man really does struggle with simple talk. Rush is superb as the very dynamic and unorthodox therapist, and provides a very good adversary to Firth. Nearly stealing the show is Bonham-Carter as the loving and supportive wife, who proves that she can do more than cartoonish Tim Burton films. Smaller roles, such as Guy Pearce’s asshole-older-brother character, Michael Gambon’s King George V, and Timothy (Wormtail) Spall’s Winston Churchill, are well cast and convincing.

The finale is a buildup of power and anxiety that can be felt right down in your bones, as Bertie addresses the empire over the (wireless) radio on the eve of war. Scored and edited beautifully, it is a rousing closure to a great and personal tale that every great leader, or lesser followers should be familiar with.

BOTTOM LINE: See it