SummaryBased on the true story of the Queen of England's father and his remarkable friendship with maverick Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. "The King's Speech" stars Academy Award nominee Colin Firth as King George VI, who unexpectedly becomes King when his brother Edward abdicates the throne. Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush stars ...
SummaryBased on the true story of the Queen of England's father and his remarkable friendship with maverick Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. "The King's Speech" stars Academy Award nominee Colin Firth as King George VI, who unexpectedly becomes King when his brother Edward abdicates the throne. Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush stars ...
It's a fine, absorbing work, built with brilliance and without excessive showiness or flash. It feels, in fact, like a classic virtually upon its arrival.
As the actor of the year in the film of the year, I can't think of enough adjectives to praise Firth properly. The King's Speech has left me speechless.
I had wanted to see The King's Speech ever since it came out in cinemas, and after seeing it I was so glad I did. Was it over-hyped? Perhaps a tad, but you can say that for any of the movies that were nominated for Best Picture. Also, I had no problem whatsoever with its Best Picture win, as along with Social Network and a couple of other movies The King's Speech in my opinion was one of the stronger films of the year.
Many people on here have raved about it being well made, well acted and very moving. I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. I respectfully disagree with those who say it is this year's Shakespeare in Love(an unfair comparison in the first place, besides Shakespeare in Love I think gets too much hate on here) or the worst Best Picture winner since Crash(that's The Hurt Locker, The King's Speech is one of the better ones).
As I have said, The King's Speech is one of my favourites of 2010. One of the main reasons why it is so is the emotional impact this film has. Although the subject matter mayn't appeal to some, I think The King's Speech has a very moving, inspiring and personal story. Thanks to some of the writing and music especially, there are a number of very poignant scenes and little things. Not just the build up to the finale, which was an example of direction at its finest, but also the penguin story which was funny, touching and adorable all at once. I wish to say out of all the movies released last year, only Toy Story 3 and Another Year came close to how deeply moving and touching The King's Speech was.
The script is very well-written. It is one that is full of intelligent dialogue, and also the dialogue has its amusing, thoughtful and very poignant moments. Examples are any exchange between Bertie and Lionel and of course the very stirring scene with the speech. Although some mayn't agree with me, I loved the score. Alexandre Desplat's score is one that is sensitive and positively hypnotic. It wasn't just the score though, the use of Beethoven's 7th Symphony and Emperor Concerto also gave the scenes they featured in plenty of emotion.
The King's Speech is a very well-made film also. There may be those who argue the production values are reminiscent of that of a TV movie, if so in my mind it is reminiscent of a TV movie with good production values. The lighting wasn't dull and the scenery and sets are lavish and evoke the period beautifully, almost like seeing the best of a beautifully-made Agatha Christie adaptation for instance. The production values are captured wonderfully by the skillful cinematography, with the powerful end shot of Lionel especially resonating. Tom Hooper's direction is very fine, not too low-key but never self-indulgent, the aforementioned build up to the finale shows this perfectly, and the film while elegiac is paced wonderfully.
The acting is one of The King's Speech's strengths. Colin Firth is just fantastic in the lead and delivers enough poignancy and pathos to make us empathise with him. Geoffrey Rush matches him perfectly by being amusing without being over-the-top and sympathetic without being manipulative. Helena Bonham Carter while perhaps underused in comparison also makes an impression in an atypical role, in the finale for example the look she gives Firth is just one of those little things that makes me struggle to refrain from choking up. There is also a solid supporting cast, Guy Pearce is good, Michael Gambon is excellent and Timothy Spall does well considering how easily he could have gone into caricature(and I can understand why people have said he did).
In conclusion, a wonderful movie and one of the best of the year. 10/10 Bethany Cox
One of the chief reasons that director Tom Hooper's richly produced film works so well is because it operates on so many different levels. The King's Speech is all about layers, and Hooper keeps it humming on several at once.
It perhaps started with "The Queen," continued with "Young Victoria" and now achieves the most intimate glimpse inside the royal camp to date with The King's Speech.
Obvious, though, is the word for Hopper's direction. It amplifies to rock-concert level every pained plosive in Bertie's speech, forces certain characters dangerously close to caricature.
This movie, by Tom Hooper, understands the deep fear and humiliation such a thing has on a person. It is tuned directly into what is going on in its character’s head. It is one of the most inspirational movies I have ever seen. One that understands hopelessness, fear, embarrassment, and also the literal life-giving power that personal strength has to overcome the worst of what life gives us.
I'm not seeing what all the hype is about. Sure, there are some funny moments and superb acting but the whole story, events, excitement etc. are all lacking. The King's Speech does what it sets out to do very well, but that's not saying much given how it doesn't try to do anything at all. There's no actual tangible content which makes this film worth watching. Only those who get emotional over absolutely everything can enjoy this film in my opinion. No action, no excitement, no laughter. Just plain boring.
Okay, after looking at some of these reviews I seem to be way off the mark on this one!! But have you ever sat through a movie and from the get go, just not believed a thing that the actors were doing and saw them just as actors acting?? Well thats exactly how I felt watching this!!! Colin Firth was spitting and stuttering on cue while throwing temper tantrums that would make a 3 year old look childish and Geoffrey Rush was looking oh so very Caricature. It just felt like an over acted, staged, Oscar Hungry **** a movie!! The entire audience seemed blown away after the film but I just didnt get it!!!
Production Company
The Weinstein Company,
UK Film Council,
Momentum Pictures,
Aegis Film Fund,
Molinare Investment,
FilmNation Entertainment,
See-Saw Films,
Bedlam Productions