The King's Speech

The King's Speech
2010
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush

Beginning in 1925, this film follows the story of the Duke of York (Bertie) through his trials and tribulations of public speaking. His father, King George V, asks him to speak at an event on the king's behalf in Wembley Stadium. The Duke, characterized by Colin Firth, fights with a strong stammer in his speaking voice, causing this speech to fail miserably. His wife, played by the lovely and sometimes terrifying Helena Bonham Carter, begs him to go for speech therapy before another big speech.

After trying a few methods, the Duke's wife meets a strange man who claims to be a speech therapist. The quick wit and strong demeanor of Geoffrey Rush's Lionel Logue convince the Duke to take up speech therapy with him. Ensuing are the ups and downs of speech therapy for a king in the wait. While he is in therapy, the clock jumps a bit in this film from year to year. His father dies, leaving the throne to his older brother, David. The brother cannot handle being king, and with the scandal of a forth coming marriage to a once-divorced woman, David gives the crown to Bertie. Now needing to act like a king, and with World War II just breaking out, Berties finds it in himself to make political and hopeful speeches to the country that he is the ruler of.

Firth's performance is believable as a troubled political power with a disability no one can seem to understand. Rush's quick wit and one-liners steal the show as the humor completely takes over any story that the unbalanced chronology seemed to try to have. The story is a simple one, bringing forth the difficulty of creating something this straight-forward into a motion picture. Firth's performance will likely get him an Academy Award nomination, and possible win. I'd be alright with that, but I feel that strong acting only can come about when the challenge is worth it. There is no greater way to tell a good actor than noticing that the actor has disappeared from the film and the character is there instead.

Stars (out of 10): 6