The King's Speech

The King's Speech is one of those movies that makes you want to stand up and cheer when you watch it. Colin Firth plays King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's dad) or "Bertie" to his close friends and family. The movie picks up around the time his father passes away and King George's brother, King Edward VIII, decides to abdicate in favor of living his life with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Seeing as King Edward has no children, King George is the next in line to be king. He shows all the makings of a monarch. But there is just one tiny hitch in his ability to be the confident and intelligent king that he needs to be-he has a stammer. He delivers a speech at the beginning of the movie that absolutely breaks your heart. He has to give a speech to hundreds and hundreds of people both in person and broadcast on the radio. The look on his face as he approaches the microphone is of absolute fear and dread. His wife, played by Helena Bonham Carter, feels every bit of pain that her husband endures by speaking in front of his audience. She decides that she is going to get help for him. This help comes in the form of Lionel Logue brilliantly portrayed by Geoffrey Rush. Logue's techniques are very odd and sometimes infuriate Bertie. However, the results speak for themselves (so to speak). Bertie improves. As his country faces the upcoming Second World War, King George VI takes his place as monarch and delivers a declaration of war against Germany.

This movie is one of my favorites that I've watched this year. Colin Firth is wonderful as the King, Geoffrey Rush is wonderful as Logue, and Helena Bonham Carter is wonderful as Queen Elizabeth. Their acting is so acute and in tune. Firth's stammer makes you want to help him read his speeches. You just feel for him as he fights to get out his words and you get frustrated when he gets frustrated and you are happy when he's happy. You feel for the Queen as she watches her Bertie struggle and you feel the tension of Bertie's subjects as they wait for him to trip on his words. Geoffrey Rush's subtle approach to Logue makes you hope that he can help the king. His even-tempered manner and his easy-going attitude gently coaxes Bertie into revealing more and more of himself so that Logue can help him and you see a friendship form between the two men that would last them the rest of their lives. Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon, Guy Pierce, and Timothy Spall round out the cast and also turn in fabulous performances. Spall's Winston Churchill is worth the price of a movie ticket alone. If Firth, Rush, and Bonham Carter are overlooked for any major award this season, then it is only because the people doing the nominations are lacking in the ability to determine what a fine performance looks like.