The King's Speech
Director : Tom Hooper
I've wanted to see this movie for sometime now, much before the Oscar hype started. Simply because stuttering was a personal problem for me and I was curious with how it was dealt with in the movie. Now I could go round and round and arrive at the point, but simply put, 'The King's Speech' is one of the most compelling drama I've ever seen. It is a brilliant film, no less.
The story revolves around the Duke of York, Albert (Colin Firth) who is the second son of King George V(Michael Gambon) and has a devastating stuttering problem. His disability is laid bare in the opening scenes of the film, where he finds himself incapable of going beyond a 'the' during a grand public address. His wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) helps arrange meetings with speech therapists, but none seem to work for Albert. In a seemingly last ditch effort, Elizabeth hires the services of Lionel(Geoffrey Rush) who's known for his unorthodox methods in curing stammer. While Albert and Lionel work out a cure, King George V dies and his elder son, David, becomes King Edward VIII. It is not long before David chooses his love life over royalty and eventually resigns in favor of Albert becoming the King. Albert becomes King George VI and soon finds himself at the helm of the World War II. Hitler is advancing and as the British Parliament declares war, the onus of motivating the troops falls on Albert. With his still prevalent stutter, he is to give a long war-time speech that's supposed to instill troops with bravado and courage. Does Lionel manage to bring out the best in Albert? Or does King George VI fail his country?
Generally, films about speech impediments are fashioned as comedies and rarely has a film taken up stuttering seriously. The film, set in the 1930's, manages to transport you to that era, but the setting is never too over-the-top and manages to keep the story as its main focus. The dialogues have an edgy-wit in them and bring out an authentic flavour of the movie. Tom Hooper's direction is precise and he is greatly helped by a tight script and a wonderful background score. Those with an ear for music cannot miss Alexandre Desplat's sometimes subtle and solemn score for which he has been awarded with an Academy nomination in the Best Music category.
The story of 'The King's Speech' may border on the average, but it is the performances that elevate the film to no end, at the crux of which is the unusual pairing of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. The chemistry between these two actors is brilliant, with each complementing the other. Rush under-plays Lionel with utmost subtlety, which allows Colin to come out in full splendour as the stuttering King George V. The pauses, the stutter and the temper is so accurately portrayed, that its hard to take your eyes off Firth. It is never once over-done and yet the performance is consistently spectacular. Helena tags along beautifully as the understanding and compassionate wife, but the film truly belongs to Colin Firth. He is the core, the life and the soul of the film and in my two-paisa worth opinion, I think he's already won himself an Oscar.
A moving and historical masterpiece, it is a gem of a film. An emphatic Oscar favorite for me, I'd give it a strong 4/5. Must MUST watch!
I've wanted to see this movie for sometime now, much before the Oscar hype started. Simply because stuttering was a personal problem for me and I was curious with how it was dealt with in the movie. Now I could go round and round and arrive at the point, but simply put, 'The King's Speech' is one of the most compelling drama I've ever seen. It is a brilliant film, no less.
The story revolves around the Duke of York, Albert (Colin Firth) who is the second son of King George V(Michael Gambon) and has a devastating stuttering problem. His disability is laid bare in the opening scenes of the film, where he finds himself incapable of going beyond a 'the' during a grand public address. His wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) helps arrange meetings with speech therapists, but none seem to work for Albert. In a seemingly last ditch effort, Elizabeth hires the services of Lionel(Geoffrey Rush) who's known for his unorthodox methods in curing stammer. While Albert and Lionel work out a cure, King George V dies and his elder son, David, becomes King Edward VIII. It is not long before David chooses his love life over royalty and eventually resigns in favor of Albert becoming the King. Albert becomes King George VI and soon finds himself at the helm of the World War II. Hitler is advancing and as the British Parliament declares war, the onus of motivating the troops falls on Albert. With his still prevalent stutter, he is to give a long war-time speech that's supposed to instill troops with bravado and courage. Does Lionel manage to bring out the best in Albert? Or does King George VI fail his country?
Generally, films about speech impediments are fashioned as comedies and rarely has a film taken up stuttering seriously. The film, set in the 1930's, manages to transport you to that era, but the setting is never too over-the-top and manages to keep the story as its main focus. The dialogues have an edgy-wit in them and bring out an authentic flavour of the movie. Tom Hooper's direction is precise and he is greatly helped by a tight script and a wonderful background score. Those with an ear for music cannot miss Alexandre Desplat's sometimes subtle and solemn score for which he has been awarded with an Academy nomination in the Best Music category.
The story of 'The King's Speech' may border on the average, but it is the performances that elevate the film to no end, at the crux of which is the unusual pairing of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. The chemistry between these two actors is brilliant, with each complementing the other. Rush under-plays Lionel with utmost subtlety, which allows Colin to come out in full splendour as the stuttering King George V. The pauses, the stutter and the temper is so accurately portrayed, that its hard to take your eyes off Firth. It is never once over-done and yet the performance is consistently spectacular. Helena tags along beautifully as the understanding and compassionate wife, but the film truly belongs to Colin Firth. He is the core, the life and the soul of the film and in my two-paisa worth opinion, I think he's already won himself an Oscar.
A moving and historical masterpiece, it is a gem of a film. An emphatic Oscar favorite for me, I'd give it a strong 4/5. Must MUST watch!
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