THE KING'S SPEECH (18)
Genre: Drama/History
Release Date: 17 February 2011
Running Time: 111 minutes
Distributor: Golden Screen Cinemas, Weinstein Company
Director: Tom Hooper
Screenplay: David Seidler
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce
Plot: "The Kings Speech" tells of the story of the man who is King George VI (Colin Firth), the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.
Reviews: Yesterday, the Academy Awards gave this movie the highest honor of the year by announcing it as the winner of Best Picture. The first question comes into my mind is how worthy this movie for that title. No, I do not think The King's Speech should have won it, considering that the other titles might have more rights to win it. However, I have to admit that The King's Speech does in some aspects deserved the title as much as the other too. Next, the question about how accurate this movie is to the original fact about the real-life King George VI and his stammer problem pops into my head. Evidently, this is an attempt to portray the story as closer to the fact, as much as possible. Can you forgive some of the exaggeration to make this movie more dramatic? Why not.
The King's Speech examines the life of Prince Albert, the second son of King George V, who has stammering issues since young. His experience in delivering his father's speech at 1925 British Empire Exhibition in Wembley was dreadful enough to manifest his stammering speech. The prince tries several unsuccessful treatments to cure it but it was not until he was persuaded by his wife Elizabeth to seek help from an Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. With his unorthodox method, Price Albert is able to regain his voice and confidence in delivering speech, while bonds an unlikely friendship with Lionel in the process.
The King's Speech is a great movie to begin with despite my initial rejection that this movie should be awarded the Best Picture. Director Tom Hooper himself is relatively unknown in the industry and had so far only made 3 feature films. No doubt, The King's Speech is his best of all because it is simply made to amaze and ferociously a fine historical drama that pleases everyone. Hooper directs The King's Speech with spectacular visualization. The story flows beautifully in one harmonious and predictable direction while brilliantly remain focus on tackling the main issue.
David Seidler attentively writes and works on the screenplay, which is based on the authenticity of the stammering problem of King George VI with a simple manner. Seidler should have adds in some high quality and polished stories that touch the human heart, making each character to freely embodies the essential core of humanity, wit and craftsmanships. There are plenty form of exaggerations been made to adjust the level of the movie mood. For example, the seriousness of Prince Albert's stammer and the portrayal of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson as more antagonist than the fact help to create more drama, tension and personal conflicts. Some historian pointed out the fact that Sir Winston Churchill was not the one who responsible for the abdication of King Edward VIII, rather advised him to stay on. Equally, the royal breachment by calling the king his Christian name or profanity dialogs are too exaggerated. Thus, it should be reminded that although the movie is based on the real accounts, it is still a fiction.
Colin Firth's performance as King George VI is convincing and stellar. While the story goes around more like a predictable history lesson, Firth's magnificently turns the historical lesson into one that remarkably highlights the challenge of a stammering prince to carry a heavy burden of leading an united nation. The witty performance by Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist Lionel Logue adds in a conflicting persona and charisma that rivals Firth but contemplate each other into forming an unlikely friendship and confidant.
In the end, The King's Speech satisfies the core audience with its great screenplay that encompasses amazing direction by the unknown Tom Hooper and a solid and stellar performance by Firth. The three elements work very well, but a Best Picture win is an overrated situation for this movie.
THE RATING:
Story: 3.5
Casts: 4.5
Cinematography: 4.5
Effects: 3.5
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 15.6/20.0
--------------------------------------------
