The King's Speech

Finally managed to catch it this week, having been wanting to see it for a few weeks. Of course, there's always the danger with such a wait that the film wouldn't live up to expectations, or rather like The Queen, that it would be an OK British costume drama which failed to live up to all the hype. Actually, The Queen is an interesting point of comparison as it touches on some of the same issues - the place of the royal family in a world changing through technology, duty and private life, etc... However, whilst The Queen was essentially one good performance surrounded by a lot of hype and some crude caricatures, The King's Speech is a truly good film, which has more humour, more feeling and more depth.

The performances are every bit as strong as Helen Mirren's. Colin Firth has been gathering all the attention as he probably heads towards the Oscar he should have won last year for A Single Man as the stuttering prince/king facing up to his responsibilities. But the film wouldn't work unless he was equally matched on either side in both of the key relationships - on the one-side Geoffrey Rush provides a great foil as the Australian speech therapist/aspiring actor who gradually helps Bertie become King George. Less noticed, but no less crucial is Helena Bonham-Carter's turn as Firth's supportive wife (who in real-life would become the Queen Mother). Her evident, but understated affection and support adds a quiet element of subtle love story, which is actually much more moving than the more traditionally romantic Edward and Mrs Simpson (who do not emerge from this film very well (which is maybe a more historically accurate way of looking at things - even Edward's Nazi sympathies are alluded to). Even the supporting cast are excellent from Michael Gambon as the old king, to a twinkle-eyed turn from Timothy Spall as Churchill.

Structurally, the film suffers very slightly from a double climax - it builds toward a personal emotional climax about halfway through in a very touching scene between Firth and Rush, but then dips ever so slightly before building again towards the more historical climax in ascension to the throne, the onset of war and that speech. The film also has a rich vein of humour - the infamous swearing scene is actually very funny - but never at the expense of the difficulties of the protagonist. In fact, in the opening scene, you can't help but feel his excuciating discomfort.

Overall - 9/10 Funny, moving, rich in historical detail and full of amazing performances. Best film of the year so far, by some distance.