The King's Speech

[Beagle 2]

Saw this yesterday, absolutely brilliant and moving film. Early days obviously, but Firth must be in line for an Oscar.

For some reason I had a bit of a Royal movie weekend and watched The Queen for the first time on Friday, and it worked really well to see them in that order, as through all the caricaturing of the Windsors as a barking mad bunch of lunatics stuck in another age, I think the thing that actually stood out the most is that the Queen's initial response to the Diana hysteria was actually a much more sensible one, that the supposedly archaic stiff upper lip was much more dignified than the collective race of the rest of the population to publicly wobble their bottom ones. The King's Speech shed light upon the era that informed this attitude, and was in some ways the story in reverse – instead of being hauled in front of the camera to display compassion in an empty box-ticking gesture, George IV, an emotionally fragile and nervous man wracked with self-doubt was required to suddenly display steely leadership qualities in a live speech to an entire empire.

Anyway, 6th form history essay aside, if you don't know, the movie focuses on the relationship between the then Duke of York and his speech therapist as he tried to cure a chronic stutter, through the turbulent period in which his father died, Edward eloped with yer Simpson and he became king, all as Hitler's rise gathered momentum.

In focusing on the reasons behind his speech impediment (the usual cold and brutal upper-class childhood) and the relationship between the two men from such polar opposite backgrounds (his speech therapist harking from working-class Australia) it could have so easily descended into sentimentality or mawkishness, but it never does. Despite this I found myself in tears more than once. Similarly it avoids the temptation for Firth to ham it up as the stuttering aristocrat, and he puts in a restrained but powerful performance. As do the supporting actors – my heart sank a little when I saw Helena Bonham-Carter's name on the cast list for another period drama but she's excellent, as is Guy Pearce as Edward. I think Tim Spall's Churchill is a bit jarring, he nailed the voice but it's just so obviously Tim Spall that you want to shout "Hey, it's Tim Spall!" when it shows his face after a lingering shot of the back of his head. I encourage you all to do so when you go and see it. Apparently Winnie lad's attitude to the abdication is also inaccurately portrayed. But those are the only complaints. The tension leading up to the final speech is ridiculous, I barely exhaled for about ten minutes.

Anyway, all in all a really excellent piece of work. Would recommend even if your heart sinks at the concept.

[Depressed Beyond Tables]

MOVED to "1001 films that are NOT worth watching".

hehe

_{might check it out}

[Beagle 2]

'Arsh! Do check it out, it's good and stuff! Also, I'm an idiot, it's not "early days" for Oscar talk, they're in a month or so innit?

[Jemble Fred]

Tim Spall as Churchill is the tipping point that makes this a must-watch. Or it would be a must-watch if it was possible to get a ticket, but it seems everybody in the world and their gran wants to see it, there's barely a seat available in the whole south west apparently.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Tim Spall as Churchill is the tipping point that makes this a must-watch. Or it would be a must-watch if it was possible to get a ticket, but it seems everybody in the world and their gran wants to see it, there's barely a seat available in the whole south west apparently.

He's only in it for about 2 minutes, so if that's the sole attraction for you, I'd wait for the DVD.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's a deliberately 'small' movie and would translate to theatre easily enough, but it rarely puts a foot wrong for the length of its running time.  Firth is good, of course, but then so is Geoffrey Rush, who remains one of my favourite actors working at the moment.  Personally I found myself a bit emotionally distanced from it all and whether it deserves its status as 'The British Are Coming' redux blockbuster-du-jour is perhaps debatable, but there are far worse ways to pass a couple of hours..

[El Unicornio, mang]

Colin Firth won the Golden Globe for best actor last night, and managed to unironically do a stutter-free acceptance speech!

[hoverdonkey]

I saw this a couple of nights ago and loved it. Not the sort of film I regularly seek out to watch at the cinema, but it was just consistently ace. Rush was the perfect compliment to Firth - I loved their relationship.

[Harpo Speaks]

Might have to have a look at this, I watched A Single Man last week and thought Firth's performance was utterly fantastic.

[Eight Taiwanese Teenagers]

The outbreak of WW2 was the real feelgood moment for me.

[tisonlyme]

I think Firth's performance in this is one of the finest I have ever seen. The scene in the therapists office when he starts curing is just astonishing. His transformation through the ilm is subtle and simply brilliant.I'm going again tomorrow.Just amazing.

[Lt Plonker]

I think Tim Spall's Churchill is a bit jarring, he nailed the voice but it's just so obviously Tim Spall that you want to shout "Hey, it's Tim Spall!" when it shows his face after a lingering shot of the back of his head.

Yeah, there was a little burst of laughter from the audience when I went to see it.

[mycroft]

I liked the cameo from Chamberlain, who had a piece of paper in his hand at all times so you knew who he was.

[SavageHedgehog]

Richard Chamberlain has a cameo in this? Sweet!

[mycroft]

I was going to say Neville Chamberlain, but I didn't want a load of angry 'Whores bearing down on me to voice their disappointment that their favourite Alistair Darling-faced poster was nowhere to be seen and I'd fobbed them off with some tall man who did Prime Minister impressions.

[small_world]

Same as Beagle, I watched The King's speech, followed a few days later by The Queen. Both excellent films.
The Queen Mother seems an excellent character in both films, I'd really like to see a well made life story for her.

Really enjoyed TK'S, Acting wise I thought Firth was excellent. If Davey Cameron does something memorable I think Firth'd be perfect for the role.
For some reason Pete Postlethwaite kept coming to mind for the role of the therapist Logue. Nothing wrong with Rush, he was excellent in this.

Lovely to see that young girl from Outnumbered playing Princess Margaret. She comes across as a real natural talent and extremely funny, for being so young.

Helena Bonham Carter? I don't know. Again, nothing wrong with her in this, but it just seemed like she was playing herself.

[hoverdonkey]

Mike from Neighbours was brilliant too

[Icehaven]

Well I for one I hope the broad appeal and widespread popularity of this film helps younger generations to better understand and appreciate the correct use of the apostrophe.

[Mister Six]

Lovely to see that young girl from Outnumbered playing Princess Margaret. She comes across as a real natural talent and extremely funny, for being so young.

Odd how she didn't age between 1925 and the start of the second world war though.

Fantastic film all the same. Some lovely shots and inventive direction, given that it's based on a stage play, and stunning performances all round. Still probably worth waiting till it's out on DVD, though - good as it looks, it's not exactly a big-screen spectacle.

[Tom Pynchon's Photo]

How long did it take to prepare for the actual King's Speech? Y'know - the big one at the end of the film. Because when Geoffrey Rush is speeding through London to prepare for that speech the airraid sirens are wailling and people are going underground to avoid being bombed to bits.

The King then makes the speech, then he goes to, Buckingham Palace balcony and there is a few billion people outside - freed from hiding from the threeat of falling bombs - cheering. 

[Jemble Fred]

Oh, in those days a patriotic cockney was always on standby, ready to cheer at any nearby waving nobs. It's what made us British. They're all dead now, so we're Far-East-Canadian.