Well, if The KIng's Speech doesn't win some Oscars there's no accounting for taste. Colin Firth and Geoffry Rush should get nominations for their outstaning performances.
This superb film is a joy to watch. It's a moving account of George VI's (Firth) struggle to overcome an almost insurmountable speech stutter he had since the age of 4 or 5. He finds help from the Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Rush), who becomes his close friend.
Before he was King of England, George VI was the younger brother of Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne so he could marry Wallis Simpson. With no other choice, Albert ("Bertie" to his family) took the title of George VI and became King of England.
War with Germany soon followed. So, at a time when the country, and the Commonwealth around the world, most needed to hear the voice of their king, the king HAD to find his voice. He does so, in the most amazing battle with inner demons. And he does it with grace, humor, and a fair amount of anger. It was a heroric struggle all of his life, and I now have an even higher opinion of George VI - not so much as a politcal figure, but as a
man.
Do not miss this film! |