at the movies: the king’s speech
January 5, 2011 in movies
I’ve been looking forward to seeing The King’s Speech ever since I saw the trailer back in October. It opened here in Australia on Boxing Day, so the boy and I headed along to see whether it lived up to the hype.
After about 40 minutes of ads and trailers (is anyone else finding that the “pre-show program” is reaching a ridiculous length?), we were launched into the world of the British royal family between the World Wars.
Colin Firth plays Prince Albert, who is second in line to the throne and known to his family as Bertie. He suffers from a terrible stammer and, as a result, fears speaking in public. He sees all the best speech therapists in the land to no avail. His proper but loving wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), seeks out a lesser-known Australian therapist (Geoffrey Rush), whose methods are unorthodox and distinctly un-royal.
The story is set against the lead-up to World War II and the abdication of King Edward. It is a fascinating story in its own right but the performances by the three leads make this film a true pleasure to watch. I was particularly impressed with Helena Bonham Carter’s subtle and emotive portrayal of the Queen Mother – after seeing her in only very extreme roles recently, it was really enjoyable to watch her in this historical drama.
The King’s Speech is already generating a lot of awards buzz, with Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for the three leads and the film itself, and I think it’s well deserved. This film is my pick of the summer.
Rating: ****
“pre-show program” more like pre-show ad extravaganza! Then they wonder why people download movies that are out in the cinema… Can’t remember the last time I had to sit through ads before I could watch that movie I downloaded, ahem, legitimately.
40 minutes of ads and trailers! you’ve got to be kidding me. That’s outrageous. I don’t mind trailers as much, but the ads should be gone!
Thanks for the review of the King’s Speech. Sounds interesting, and it would be good to see Helena in a more loving role (I have images of her as Bellatrix in HP – evil!)
I enjoy the trailers too but, as the boy said, the “pre-show ad extravaganza” was really quite ridiculous – it got to the point that I couldn’t really remember what I was there to watch in the first place! Hopefully you don’t get quite so many ads when you go to see the film… and even if you do, it’s still worth it!