The King's Speech

Review for this is coming very soon! Been a while since I wrote a review and what better movie than an oscar nominated flick like the King's Speech?

The King’s Speech
Starring
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Rush
Helena Bonham Carter

Introduction
Most Oscar nominated films seem predictable in the sense that they are Oscar material. A lot of times, a movie doesn’t seem worth it either. However, King’s Speech definitely deserves its nominations as it truly a piece of filmmaking art. Despite certain expectations I had about the film, namely it being an “actor’s” film, I was pleasantly surprised by other filmmaking treats that comprised the movie.

Acting
This one’s pretty much a given. This movie has a fantastic cast that really engross you into the characters of the movie. For the duration of the film, they’re not actors, they’re characters, real people. Their performances so beautifully crafted that it’s near impossible to see Captain Barbossa in the performance of Lionel Logue. The two leading characters really do lead the movie as the majority of the movie takes place with only Prince Albert and Lionel Logue and they really drive the movie.

Colin Firth was an actor that I have known about, but never actually seen before in any movie, so watching his performance of the stuttering Prince Albert is a very good way to start watching him. His performance of a humble, yet fearful man who is ultimately made the King of England during a time of impending war is astounding. The vocal elements such as the stuttering are very natural, it really was like he was tripping over the words and not faking it. But beyond just the stuttering, he embodied the character very well and to see the character grow throughout the movie is something rarely seen in film these days. Unlike in most British dramas, this movie does not feel like it was acted out on stage and then put on film. The acting makes it almost seem like everything was really happening, that the characters were real and that the cameras were just there at the right time to record the most strategic elements to the story.

Geoffrey Rush is one of those actors who becomes the role so much so that the other roles the actor has played, seem like they were performed by another man. Lionel Logue is a bright, common man who has the Duke of York show up for vocal lessons. Taking him on using somewhat unorthodox methods, Rush pulls off a comedic, yet natural performance. He doesn’t appear as comic relief to the movie, though his methods are comical, he appears like a normal man who is simply trying to improve the King’s speech. Geoffrey Rush plays a father who is also trying to get into acting some Shakespeare for theatre, but runs a bit short on his luck. Despite him being down about this, he is very much a father figure, not just to his kids, but in a way, to Albert as well and shows Albert what it’s like to have somebody by your side looking out for you.

The quirky wife to Prince Albert, played by Helena Bonham Carter doesn’t have all too many scenes in the movie, especially compared to Firth and Rush, however she lights up every one of her scenes with a certain radiance that almost makes you pleased when she is on screen. Despite being regal, she has a certain attitude about her, that mixed with her mildly comic moments and her loving persona towards Albert, make her a very well blended character. Carter talks just the right way, again pulling off a highly believable character but definitely has a very good sense of timing and intonation. She is a very compassionate woman, yet knows not when to let people walk over her or her husband and she watches out for him. Carter does this nothing short of brilliantly making her a very fun character to watch.

As for the supporting cast, they all did a marvelous job. From King George the Fifth to Winston Churchill, they appear as more than just historical icons being portrayed by people playing up to common historical knowledge, but they appear again as real people, well played that allows you to get attached to them as if they were any other character.

Cinematography
Here is where the real surprise was for me. This movie is one of the best directed films I’ve seen in a very long time. I was not expecting such playfulness with shot angles and sizes that it made the movie a visual treat to watch and not just an actor’s treat. The director used the camera to convey messages and emotions simply with how the movie was shot, part of what makes this movie art. The different feelings you get, allowing you to connect with the characters simply because a shot makes a scene look intimidating, allowing you to feel as the character does. From what I could tell, there weren’t too many errors such as jump cuts, meaning the film was well storyboarded and crafted before it even got to the filming stage.
As for editing, the movie is all about timing, when to talk, when not to talk etc and it doesn’t fall short on the editing. Each shot is cut at the right time, mixed and blended with a sense of timing that help makes the movie a well told story. Everything done in the film was to further the story and development of character and the mechanics of the film work to achieve this goal as much as the acting and writing do.
Again, a key element of this movie is timing and what better thing than music to do such a task. Though the soundtrack is somewhat minimal and definitely British, having a blend of classical and soundtrack style music, it has its purpose. The key moment in the film (it’s climax) is made that much so by the brilliant score that goes with it. The timing, the enunciation of the music, makes it a memorable scene, one that grips you with a multitude of emotions, that makes you hopeful and yet fearful at the same time

Story
The next most surprising thing about the movie was how engrossing the story was. The story literally has you going through it, wondering what’s going to happen next. At first glance, the movie is two guys that talk in a room throughout the film, this is not true. Beyond just the story of what’s happening in the King’s life and the events that lead him to be King, there is the looming threat of World War II about to begin. Of course having some familiarity with the history of WWII makes it almost like you are leading up to the penultimate episode in a television series, in which all the dark little hints that were thrown your way over the course of the series, have finally come to life, revealing the ultimate threat, the greatest challenge, that which is yet to come.
However, on top of that, this movie is a play on life, on what holds so many people back from achieving greatness from within themselves. But part of what makes this a brilliant story, is how these messages don’t make the film sappy, or make you feel bad about your own life. Now it also doesn’t seem to be a completely “inspirational” movie like The Blind Side or anything. They key element to this movie is naturalism and the story is where it begins and ends.

Conclusion
As I stated before, a film definitely worth the nominations and wins it has been receiving. I will definitely own this movie when it becomes available for purchase and is an excellent representation of what happens when all the elements of film come together in unity, to further the purpose of the film, making it a very enjoyable experience.

10/10

And of course, it's available at my blog

http://chris-cameron.blogspot.com/2011/02/kings-speech.html

It sounds very good, we'll probably be seeing it soon.

I'd definitely recommend it, it was a most excellent movie