Rarelydoyougettoseeamoviethatpromisesalotandthen,livesupto it'spromise.TheKing'sSpeechisararepiece,indeed.
Themoviestartsoffwithastammeringspeechandsignsoffwitha staggeringone,withhardlyanyglitchesinbetween.
ThebasicPmiseofthemovieisfairlysimple.Akingwithastutteris helpedbyamaverickspeechtherapisttoovercomehisproblemandbecomean inspiringorator.Thatsoundslikeaveryknownterritorytomostmoviegoers. Butfewminutesintothemovie,andyourealizethatthisonesimplypushesthe baranotchhigher.
Itisaverypleasingmovie,doesn'tleadtheaudienceintoalotof uncomfortablequestions.However,theartistryliesintheoverallbalanceof themovie.YouslowlystartgettinggrippedbyDavidSeidler'sscreenplay.
Theactorsaresuperb,takesitslowandsteadywithsuperbgriponeachof theircharacters.WhileColinFirthputsinaspectacularperformance(oneyou can'tmiss)，GeoffreyRushgoesabitmoreoldschoolandpullsoffasubtleand deepportrayal.
Onethatfillsupyourheartbutalsokeepsyourbrainactive.Humorcomes inhereandthere,withaveryeasyflowandsteadypace.Notforasingle momentdoyouperceivethemovieasdull.HelenaBonhamCarterisgood.Guy Pearceisappropriate,thoughhedoeslookabittoocasualattimes(maybethat wasanintentionalcharacterflaw)。
Mostofthemoviehadbeenfilmedindoors,albeitwitheloquentart direction.Buttheoccasionalsequencesshotoutsidehadbeenfilmedvery beautifully,portrayingaverydreamypictureofthethenEngland.Sometimes, thecameragoesintooclosetothecharacters,andstaysthereforawhile,
justlongenoughtogiveusasenseofsuffocation,quiteanartistic equivalentofaspeechdisorder!Butthenagain,negativeshadeshadbeen whitewashedwithjoyousonesandyouneverperceiveitasadarkmovie.
Directionwise,TomHooperisbangon!Thisisthekindofamoviewhere youwanttogivealotofcredittothedirector.Theset-upissuchthatthe dramaticelementsarehighbutneedstobetamed,sothatitdoesn'tgoesover board.AndMr.Hooperhitsthebullseye!
Perfectbalance.
Allpointsconsidered,it'sabrilliantmovieandamustwatch.
ThisisabiopicabouthowKingGeorgeVI,thefatherofQueenElizabeth II,overcamehisstutteringproblem.Widelyconsideredbyallbuthisfather unfittobeking,
Georgeisreluctantlythrustuntothethroneandintothespotlightafter hisbrotherisforcedtoabdicate.
OvershadowedontheglobalstagebypowerfuloratorslikeAdolphHitlerand BenitoMussolini,theKingreliesonthehelpofalittle-known.
AustralianspeechtherapistnamedLionelLoguetofindhisvoiceand courageouslyleadhispeopleintothemostdevastatingwarhumanityhasever faced.
Thisisapowerful,hilariousanddeeplymovingstory,toldagainstthe backdropofacriticaljunctureinmodernhistory,oftheemergenceofadeep friendshipoutofaprofessionalrelationshipbetweentwomenwhowould otherwiseneverhavesociallyinteracted.
Thescreenplay,writtenbyDavidSeidler(whoalsowroteTucker:TheMan andhisDream),isexcellent.ThedryBritishwitishilarious.Iwasliterally slappingmykneeduringsomeofthescenes.
TomHooper(ElizabethI)doesasuperbjobdirectingthismovie.
Thebuilduptotheclimacticfinaleisskillfullyexecutedandpromptedthe audiencetoeruptintospontaneousapplause.(Apparently,thisalsohappenedat theRoyThomsonHallPmiere.)GeoffreyRush(Elizabeth:TheGoldenAge)doesa fantasticjobasLionelLogueandColinFirth(ASingleMan)isexcellentas KingGeorgeVI.
IsawthesecondpublicscreeningofthismovieattheRyersonTheater duringtheTorontoInternationalFilmFestival(TIFF).TomHooperwasPsentto introducethemovie.HewasjoinedbyColinFirthandGeoffreyRushafterthe movieendedforabriefQ&A.
ItturnsoutthatDavidSeidleralsohadastutteringproblemasachild anddrewinspirationfromtheking'sstruggle.Earlyinhiscareerhewantedto writeascreenplayaboutit.
HedutifullyaskedtheQueenMotherforpermission.Sheagreedbuttoldhim "notinmylifetime".Littledidheknowshewouldlivetobe101andhewould havetowaitanother30years.
Anotherinterestingtidbitwelearnedwasthatneartheendoftheshoot, thecrewfinallylocatedoneofLionelLogue'sgrandsons,whojustsohappened toliveabout10minutesawayfromthedirector.
TheygotaccesstoLionel'sdiariesandcorrespondenceandmanagedto incorporatesomeofitintothescript.
Thismovieisanunqualifiedmustsee.
TheKing'sSpeechisbothalotfunnierand,strangely,alotmorepolite thanyou'dprobablyexpect.
ThehumourmostlycomesfromGeoffreyRush'sspeechtherapist,whoaimsto cureColinFirth'sDukeofYork'sterriblestammer.
Andthisisincreasinglyimperative;asthefilmbegins,reigningmonarch KingGeorgeV(MichaelGambon)isailing.Thereissomecontroversyoverthe next-in-line?GuyPearce'sEdward.NotonlyisEdwardabi-plane-flying, party-lovingsocialitebutheisalsoinarelationshipwithAmericanporcee WallisSimpson(EveBest).
Marryingherwouldcauseaconstitutionalcrisis?andpotentiallyrip aparttheChurchofEngland.
Withtheadventofradio,themonarchmustbeabletospeakwell,andFirth maywellbeinthejobsoonerthanhethinks.Aftertryingmanyoptions,wife HelenaBonhamCarter'sElizabethfinallyturnstoanAntipodean,specialisingin someratherunconventionaltechniques,basedonLondon'sHarleyStreet.
TheDukeandthespeechtherapistformanunlikelyfriendship,verballyand evenphysicallybouncingoffeachotherwithmiddle-agedabandon.
Thesescenesarethebackboneofthefilm.Theyarefunny,entertainingand performedbytwoactorsobviouslyenjoyingthemselvesenormously.
GeoffreyRushdeliversgreatlineaftergreatlineandFirth'reacts'with adeadpanstraightness.You'dwishtherewouldbemoreofthesemoments. Additionalcomedycomesfromsomeofthebackgroundcharacters.(www.zhiyuanku.com)For instance,TimothySpall'sWinstonChurchillridesthelineofparody(mostly) successfully.
Asforthefilm'spoliteness?someofitcomes,Pdictably,fromFirth's monarch-in-waiting.He'smild-manneredandsensitiveroyalty,andFirthemploys asimilarlyunderstatedapproachthanthatofhisworkinASingleMan.The portrayalisquintessentiallyEnglish,andasgoodaswe'vecometoexpectfrom Firthrecently.
Theremainingpolitenesscomesfromthefilm'slevelofdrama.Thereare crown-loadsofdramaticpotentialhere?thetroublesomefather-sonrelationship betweenGambon'struculent,demandingmonarchandFirth'sstammeringso.
thetensioncomingfromtheAmericaninterloper;thepainful,unfolding, PludetotheSecondWorldWarplayingout?butit'sallbackgroundnoise. Sometimesitfeelsforgottenaboutentirely,andhistoricalperspectiveis, almosttastelessly,lost.
Andalthoughthereisadefinitedirectionanddevelopmentthroughoutthe movie,there'sonlyasprinklingofedge-of-your-seatmaterial.Anydramais tentativeandinoffensive.
So,althoughthereisalotofhumour,crowd-pleasingfunandsome award-worthyperformances,thereisalackofedgeanddarknesshere.Triumph overadversityisfineifyougetthemeasureofbitterandsweetnessright.The King'sSpeechfails,andtheendresultisquestionableandproblematic.
