THE KING'S SPEECH
5 out of 5 stars

“if i am king, where is my power? can i declare war? form a government? levy a tax? no! and yet i am the seat of all authority because they think that when i speak, i speak for them.” – king george VI


BRAVO, colin firth! BRAVO, geoffrey rush! such a wonderful film about the struggles of a king’s speech problem and the person who helped him overcome it... BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO! ;)

based on historical events, BBC films teaches us the story of a king who couldn’t even speak an entire sentence without stammering through it... before he was king george VI, albert AKA bertie (colin firth) dreaded public speaking due to the fact that his stammer got the best of him every time he got in front of a mic. so, his wife, the lady of york (helena bonham carter), seeks out australian “doctor of speech defects” lionel logue (geoffrey rush), who agrees to help. logue isn’t your conventional speech therapist, and boy, are his methods both effective and hilarious... (i.e. cursing, body exercises, yelling out windows, singing, even uncovering past traumas of the patient) “bertie” is reluctant at first with lionel’s methods, but both his wife and lionel keep at it until he addresses his problem. as the lady of york states, it’s not like he can just NOT do any public speaking due to king george VI’s sudden ascension to the throne, after his older brother edward (guy pearce) abdicates to marry the woman he loves. so, therein lies the problem... how will bertie get better at speaking when he’s got to address his people during WWII?

a WONDERFUL story about the relationship between lionel and bertie, and it’s sweet to see how lionel helps bertie overcome his speech problems. it’s very heartfelt, and you can’t help but root for our king until the very end! GREAT script, GREAT acting, and GREAT soundtrack!!! (that classical soundtrack really works well with this one...) it’s no surprise that the king’s speech will dominate the oscars as it did with the golden globes, and i’m willing to bet that it may even win the coveted best picture. GO SEE IT NOW. DO IT. IT’S THAT GOOD. ;)