The King’s Speech is such a wonderful, inspiring movie! My husband and I absolute love, love love it! And Colin Firth as usual, did an effective role this time as King George VI who suffered from pronounced stammer. No wonder Firth has been winning the acting awards for the role – only one more left, The Oscars.
This movie answered one question that once came to my mind (but never got around to googling to find the easy answers). Who was the guy who took the throne as King of England when the current king abdicated his thone so he can marry his love, twice divorced American Wallis Simpson? (hahaha far from profound, i know but i only wondered about this once.. ok maybe twice). The reason I asked this question was, who was supposedly the future king of Englnad? If it were not for the abdication, Charles would not be Prince of Wales and William should not be the future king. (blame this curiousity on the papparazi’s obsession with the British monarchy especially with William’s recently announced engagement).
But I digress.. Let us go back to the movie. I loved Firth’s portrayal of a powerful man (Prince Albert a.k.a. Duke of York a.ka. King George VI) paralyzed by fear because of his inability to speak confidently. He dreaded his older brother’s abdication because that would mean he would be “forced” to make public speeches. Worse, he simply dreaded speaking. It was the unorthodox method and genuine loving concern of a speech therapist that made the difference. This man wasn’t overwhelmed by the fact that he was tutoring royalty. He was not there to say niceties to the king. He was there to help the king by telling him as it is. The chemistry of Firth and Geoffrey Rush as speech therapist Lionel Logue was key to the movie. The third character that created the perfect ensemble was Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth 1. The queen’s support and confidence in his husband was his driving force. She was there for him.
And of course, the movie had to show king’s two little daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. Perhaps as a link to the present, living British monarchy.
I love this movie for several reasons: first, Colin Firth. The first time I knew of him was when I watched Bridget Jones’ Diary. He became famous among women especially with that line his character (Mark Darcy) gave to Bridget Jones — ” I like you just as you are.” I like his understated kind of acting. He is like de Niro or Pacino who need not be “hollywoodish” to be recognized. Then he was part of the ensemble cast of Love Actually . I liked him there as well. When I saw him sing in Mamma Mia, I was thrilled! He has a nice singing voice. (compared to Pierce Brosnan’s voice, actually). I would have wanted to watch him in the role that made him famous, that of Mr Darcy in a BBC TV version of Pride and Prejudice
Second point: I like period movies that are based on true accounts, those that we can refer to in history books or in — wikipedia. 
Although I liked the movies Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, I do find movies that are based true stories more interesting. I remember liking the movie The Other Boleyn Girl, which was fictional yes, but still loosely based on the lives of real people. I remember that I liked the movie, Flag of our Fathers as well.
The King’s Speech refers to the speech that the king delivered at a pivotal time in the empire’s history as the country wages war against Hitler. It was a speech that mattered much not just to the country but the rest of the world.
