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Elocution is arguably one of the most irritating subjects known to man: people hate being corrected for speaking improperly, so the idea of spending two hours watching an aristocrat circumnavigate his stammer hardly sounds particularly appealing. Yet considering The King’s Speech stars many of Britain’s finest actors, is directed by rising star Tom Hooper (The Damned United), and will almost certainly be nominated for several Academy Awards, it suddenly sounds much more palatable.
Last year, Colin Firth’s sublime performance in A Single Man narrowly failed to land the Oscar for Best Actor. This year, he seems destined to win with this wonderful performance. From the first time we see him, and before he even utters a sound, we instantly identify with and care for his plight, not so much the pompous arrogant aristocrat but the private man forced into public life. In a turn that would make any film watchable in its own right, Firth succeeds in playing George VI as a kind-hearted human being rather than a grand historic figure.
Yet what makes this all the more extraordinary is that every performance in the film is of such a high calibre: Helena Bonham Carter is brilliant as his affectionate and caring wife, and other smaller roles such as Churchill (Timothy Spall) and George V (Michael Gambon) are done to perfection. However, particular credit has to go to Geoffrey Rush for his performance as Lionel, the King’s rather eccentric speech therapist who guides the king through a series of bizarre and unusual vocal exercises including a large burst of profanities to overcome his stammer. More importantly, he helps the monarch to deal with childhood traumas alongside helping to overcome the vast pressures and responsibilities of royal life that prove to be an equally important part of the cure.
The film’s direction is also excellent, never revealing the film's stage play origins and creating some truly memorable images as well as perfectly utilising deep and shallow focus to highlight each actors every nuance. This is all helped along by David Seidler’s excellent screenplay, which not only a enables a deeply interesting drama but also finds time for comedy and presents the viewer with a genuine threat using the historic threats that loom in the distance to emphasise the responsibilities the king must face. Despite the fact that the film takes place primarily during the succession crisis of 1936, there is always the sense of threat and purpose necessary to carry the film that never once feels tired, lacklustre or irrelevant.
The King’s Speech could simply have been another British costume drama, the sort we see so many of in this country. Instead, thanks to some superlative acting, a brilliant script and wonderful direction, it becomes a fascinating tale of one a man’s struggle to cope with a vast responsibility heaped upon him and its consequences, making for a moving and genuinely fascinating experience that is simply a joy to watch.
See The King's Speech in cinemas from this Friday, including at City Screen York.
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