No one is perfect. Not you, not me, not even royalty. Everyone got some flaw about them. I for one am a loud guy who laughs at his own terrible puns. And a lot of times thes imperfections can be very embarrassing. Today we are taking a look at a movie about a man with such an imperfection… only on a bigger scale.
Ladies and gentlemen… “The King’s Speech”.
This movie is about King George VI (Colin Firth). Well to be more precise the movie is for the most part set before he became George. He is supposed to be able to give these great speeches to the people, problem is he has a stammer. He tries everything to get better, but nothing works. Then one day his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) gets a tip about a rathe unconventional speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). So George starts going to Lionel to get better and try to get rid of his stammer. And so begins a long and different friendship. I have to admit, the story is a bit predictable. However, it is presented in such a way where you don’t mind it. The story is both well-written and interesting with a good dose of emotion in it. You want to see this guy succeed in giving a good speech because of how great the story is presented.
The characters are well-written, realsitic and superbly acted. Colin Firth gives the performance of a lifetime. There are so many little nuances in his body language when he plays this troubled man. And of course Geoffrey Rush is great too, I mean… he’s Geoffret frickin’ Rush. But I did enjoy all the people in the movie as they were all really well-written and really well acted.
The score for the movie was done by the amazing Alexandre Desplat. What I like about the score in this movie is that it doesn’t need to be overly dramatic and bombastic but rather is pretty quiet with mainly strings and piano being used to create this beautiful score. Sure, there are a few other instruments throughout, but the score mainly consists of strings and piano. And I love it!
Director Tom Hooper did an excellent job directing this movie with a lot of professional work behind the camera. The movie looks really good even though some people might complain that it is rather dark in visuals (Sidenote: I’m not such a person, but I acknowledge that some people will). What I also really liked anout this movie was one scene… it was fantastic. While I am not gonna spoil here what it is I can mention that it is from one of George’s and Lionel’s sessions. Those of you who have seen the movie might know what the hell I am talking about!
This movie was incredibly well-received by audiences and critics alike. On Rotten Tomatoes it got a 94% positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 88/100. Roger Ebert really seemed to like the movie as he gave it 4/4 stars. And of course finally on imdb.com it has a score of 8,1/10 and is ranked #220 on the “Top 250” list. The movie also won 4 Oscars in the categories of Best picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Director and Best original screenplay. The movie as also nominated for an additional 4 Oscars in the categories of Best supporting Actor (Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Carter), Best cinematography and Best Film Editing.
“The King’s Speech”, while predictable has a terrific and emotional story with great peformances, a great score, great camera work/cinematography. Time for my final score. My final score for “The King’s Speech” is a 9,81/10 and of course gets the one and only “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”
Review of “The King’s Speech” is now done.
Question of the day, do you know or have known anyone with a stammer?
TheMarckoguy 