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The King's Speech

He's won almost all of the Best Actor awards this year.

A movie junkie as I am should watch the foremost contender in the Oscars and already-winner in the Globes and others. And so I have.

The King's Speech is about how King George VI (Colin Firth)—the now Queen Elizabeth II's father—overcame his stammer in time for his first war time speech. War time meaning World War II against Germany's Hitler. And he wouldn't be able to do it without the help of his speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and also his loving wife and partner Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter).

Their exchanges make British humor actually funny.

That's as simple as any good story but it gets a bit of an overall treatment. A solid story is always a chunk of how good a movie is. Plus the artistic depiction of the era when the real King George VI ascended the throne, and the scenes feels legit. And then you see the three very distinguished actors do their thing, and it's a marvel to watch in an instant. Firth, I think, portrayed a stammering grownup man with real charm that you would hold your breath every time he speaks hoping he wouldn't stammer. And you can only admire Rush's portrayal of a brave man unwilling to totally give in to his monarch's whims. A toned down Bonham Carter, too, did a royal take on a soon-to-be-queen, sheepishly powerful in her own right and very lady-like.

Love her more with eyeliner, but she's still a gem without it.

It was always a thrill to appreciate British humor, kinda intelligent at some points. But I think the real edge of this movie is capturing the hearts of its audience to feel for King George VI, although there were some articles that claim the movie wasn't truthful to the real King George VI's political stance during that time. Well, The Social Network isn't completely accurate, is it?



The King's Speech gets an eight out of ten, for a total ensemble of simply brilliant acting, filmmaking, and storytelling.


*photos from 1.bp.blogspot.com, circlecinema.com, and teawithmarykate.wordpresscom

2 comments :

I am betting on Colin Firth for Best Actor, and Christian Bale for Best Supporting.

The odds favor them, too. I think it's really difficult to portray a stammering man—either you overdo the stammering or do it not convincing enough. Colin Firth, I believe, did it just right.

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