• “The King’s Speech”, Directed by Tom Hooper, The Weinstein Company, 118 minutes, Released Dec. 24, 2010.
Ever felt embarrassed after stammering or stuttering in public? What if you were the son of a king and the whole world was watching? In The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, Prince Albert (Colin Firth), the future George VI, faced just that situation. As the second son of the George V, he was expected to appear in public representing his father — and his nation. And yet he could barely utter a complete sentence. If Albert were no more than a young naval officer, this would not be a problem. But all eyes were fixed on the son of the man who ruled a quarter of the world’s people.
The film opens with the prince’s closing address at the 1925 Wembley Exhibition. In a scene that is painful to watch, Albert chokes on his words and barely makes it through his speech. He has visited all the specialists and none has been able to help. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is determined not to let it drop, though, and soon visits the shabby consulting rooms of an eccentric Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to arrange treatment for her husband.
The prince’s therapy is indeed unconventional, with Lionel insisting on first-name relations and complete equality with his royal patient. His physical therapy and exercises seem ridiculous but the couple is desperate. Elizabeth throws herself into encouraging “Bertie,” and the two men form a close bond as the prince’s impediment improves.
The film skips forward to 1936 and the death of George V. Bertie’s brother, the heir, is proving increasingly unreliable and is obsessed with the American socialite Wallis Simpson. After his accession as Edward VIII, the scandal heats up — the king is told by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his advisors that he cannot possibly marry the twice-divorced Wallis, both of whose husbands are still living, as the king is the temporal head of the Church of England, which forbids remarriage for divorcees.
Following his father’s death, a shaken Bertie pours out to his only trusted friend the hurt and the stress of his royal father’s expectations and harsh correction, his childhood history of abuse and favoritism, and the incessant mockery from his more confident brother that has marked his life. When Lionel tries to tell the prince that he’d make a far better king than his brother — a statement that the loyal Bertie considers treasonous — the friends have a falling out.
Yet over the next few months Lionel’s judgment is borne out as Edward resolves to abdicate rather than leave Wallis, and his younger brother is tapped to step into a role he never felt suited to fill. With Britain at the brink of war, the prince who couldn’t speak must overcome his fears to become the king his nation so desperately needs.
The film has some disagreeable moments that belie its generally uplifting tone, however. As part of his speech therapy, Bertie frequently salts his words with profanity and obscenity, which he does not stammer over, and one notable scene is comprised almost entirely of a stream of British obscenity and profanity, goaded on by Lionel. As much of the film’s events are set during the abdication crisis, multiple characters also discuss the scandal surrounding the American divorcee in tones ranging from guarded and oblique to highly suggestive. Nothing objectionable is shown on screen, but the film is still rated R for language.
The King’s Speech is roughly historical, despite taking a number of liberties with timing in particular. Although dates are given in pivotal scenes, and the king’s treatment and friendship with Logue did extend from 1926 through World War II, distinct improvements were notable within months, rather than years as depicted in the film. The timing is compressed visually, with few characters, including the children, showing any substantive aging between the start of treatment and the abdication crisis. The film also has other inaccuracies — notably, several scenes hint that George VI was strongly opposed to Hitler’s rise, despite his chronicled support of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement. A cameo characterization of Churchill also is rather inaccurate and quite distracting.
The King’s Speech has enjoyed a well-earned critical and financial success so far. Despite a limited early U.S. release, box office returns have grossed more than $120 million, far surpassing its $15 million budget. U.S. release expanded after the film received a well-deserved 12 Academy Award nominations. And though it has some stiff competition, it’s likely to win a good portion of those. Look out for Danny Cohen’s incredibly spare and personal cinematography, which masterfully illustrates Bertie’s internal conflict through the course of the film with subtle framing cues and lighting shifts. Firth and Bonham Carter in particular deserve recognition for incredibly emotional and sympathetic portrayals of an intensely private couple caught up in the most public of roles.
This film brings a unique look into the inner life of the monarchy, where personal decisions affect the stability of a nation. Being king doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want. Rather, it means an entire nation may suffer as a result of your decisions. At its rawest, this is a triumphant story about morals and character and friendship winning out over selfish intrigue and politics.
You’re never quite so alone as when you’re at the top — but Bertie has his family and his one friend. The King’s Speech is not to be missed — a gripping, personal tale of quiet heroism and personal drama played out on the world’s stage. One that will leave you with tears in your eyes.