'The King's Speech' (2010) **** 1/2 stars out of 5. This is the best film of the year

‘The King’s Speech’ is a beautiful film, full of soul. I do not need to get into all the technical accomplishments suffice to say that I will address some later on in the review. It has the all the qualities you come to expect from a great film: the editing is sharp, the screenplay is smart, the acting is evocative and the directing is superb in assembling all of the elements in a cogent manner. This is the best film of the year. The film centres on the Duke of York named Bertie (Colin Firth) who ascends to the throne following the abdication of his brother King Edward the VIII (Guy Pearce) who was the rightful successor to the deceased father of the siblings King George V (Michael Gambon). His brother abdicates due to so called scandalous reasons: he wishes to betroth a twice divorced woman who knows how to put it on. He goes against convention and is forced to abdicate after the intervention of the parliament. Bertie has a significant problem: he stammers and this stammer represents deep psychological barriers within the recesses of his mind. In the very first scene when he is asked to give an address, as the duke, on the King’s behalf you witness how gripping an ordeal it is for him (because of this opening scene I will also show why this film succeeds where ‘The Fighter’ failed). After this ordeal his wife in the opening act, the duchess Elizabeth, (Helena Bonham Carter) prior to her husband’s ascension to the throne, arranges for more unorthodox means to have her husband’s condition improve. You see in the film that the so called established physicians use antiquated methods dating back to Ancient Greece to try and cure Bertie’s speech impediment. Elizabeth turns to Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to provide so called unorthodox means to treat his patient. Lionel is an everyday man who is not awed by royalty; he may be a failed actor but he has the confidence that the King lacks. What develops is the power of friendship shared by humans everywhere and this film explains how friendship acts as a buffer between hope and despair.  It is because of Lionel why the film adds dimensions which will allow even the most vulgar filmgoer to appreciate. The main crux of this film lies in the final act where you in audience will sit with bated breath hoping to see if King Bertie, with the help of Lionel, will be able to deliver the important speech that will unite his people as they prepare for war with Germany.  As King George V says before he dies before all a king had to do was look civil as he mounted his horse before a parade. With the introduction of technology he bemoans the fact that now the King is forced to deliver messages through various lines of communication such as the radio so as to appear as the nominal leader of his country by seeking out every nook and cranny (thanks to the lines of communication) so that his so called subjects will bear witness to his authority.( Growing up in Jamaica, a former British colonial territory, during the 1990’s I remember every Christmas everyone would note the moment when the Queen would deliver her speech. This is the 1990’s 30 + years after we achieved independence and it presented itself to me,  as a child at the time, as the mental servility that pervades the consciousness of some Jamaicans. We have now latched on to the ass of North America our nominal protector and later it will be Asia.) This film occurs during the inter war period (the period between World War 1 and 2) and so the vestige of royalty still holds sway in the early years of the twentieth century. This is opposed to the message of the film ‘The Queen’ where the image of royalty is seen as a sign of decadence in the present day. If you do not plan to find out Queen Elizabeth of the present day is the daughter of the King Bertie of this film. The film ‘The Queen’ should serve as a worthy companion piece to this film.

This film delves into what it means to be human. This so called civilised world has hampered some of our modes of expression where we become almost soulless and robotic; everything has to be in a straight line and so every curve has to be smoothed out i.e. everything wild has to be tamed. This is what happens to Bertie who has been brought up in the Royal family which by so called divine right represents the ultimate example of decorum and civility. Everything is done by the book. (Just a clue here: when Bertie makes an outburst he does not stammer; now Why is that?)  Lionel recognises this and due to his everyday charm, having come from the outback of Australia, insists that his patients open up to him since stammering or stuttering in most cases reflects some psychological wounds that are still gaping open, unable to close. Lionel realises from firsthand experience that if they are unable to open up their stammer will be with them always and all the physical exercises, rightly classified as superficial, will not do the job. The film demonstrates this in a simple but powerful fashion; you should look out for that moment when Bertie realises that these exercises will not do him justice and he just needs the means to offload his burden for the superficial exercises which he and Lionel engage in are the habit of his life so nothing new will come of them.  It is a powerful scene that will ensure Firth receives the academy award for actor in a leading role. Do not be fooled into thinking by the fact that he won the golden globe simply because he knows how to stammer it is because of the scene where he decides to reveal all. It is because of this scene that I was moved emotionally for the first time by any film since the beginning of 2010. It is a powerful scene and if you watch the film watch it for that particular scene. It is the scene where true friendship is born. It is a brilliant sequence because it highlights an experience common to all of us; there will be a moment when you know definitively that this person you once took for a superficial friend or associate will be with you forever.

The love of friendship is love but as the characters in the ‘The English patient’ explains (in which Colin firth played a good supporting role) there are different kinds of love. The romantic books and films that women enjoy are purely reflective of sexual desire and the urge to have children. In this film the bond between Lionel and Bertie is one where human beings connect in a sphere where there is no fear of being you. You can completely let the person into that sphere which everyone has; a designated sphere. I am being metaphysical here but it can be corroborated by reality. Every human being has a sphere which represents their mode of operation and so there are few people from outside that can enter that sphere and I do not mean holding hands. This is why you only have one or two true friends by the time you are 40 or 50.There will be associates and superficial friends who you have a good chat with now and then but few will be able to enter your space and I do not mean your house; it is purely a metaphysical /psychological concept which is validated by the process of aging where we dispense with baggage as we go along. What Bertie and Lionel experience is the sharing of space and this theme is not uncommon to this film. In ‘Inception’ for instance Nolan realised (see my review of ‘Inception’ for more details) that for his concept of creating an original idea to work he had to allow to explore the emotions which are the primary source of our thoughts which only later can be validated or disproved  by reason. Cobb says to Saito at the beginning of ‘Inception’ ‘you have to completely let me in’. In ‘Pinocchio’ jiminy cricket refers to it as your conscience (listen to the song ‘let your conscience be your guide). When you allow this person to explore your sphere (Psychological not sexual) and you are not mentally revolted then you have discovered what they call love i.e. you have embraced another human being. Some women have been bamboozled to think that it culminates in kissing and having sex; they have been completely bamboozled by the romantics. The film notes importantly at the end that at every speech following the one delivered in this film Lionel was right there with Bertie. When a person enters your sphere definitively you cannot shed them as excess weight as you get older no matter how hard you try which is why in some of these crass songs you have these puerile romantics completely at a loss as to why they can’t let their woman go. Puerile women are also bamboozled by the romantics who claim they can do anything for them. In any case this is the love that is experienced by Bertie and Lionel and as strange as it sounds it is true love. ‘The King’s Speech’ also makes another important point: some people surround themselves with superficiality all their lives that they do not know what it is like to feel. They become imbecilic in the end, uttering gibberish and some of these people are incredulously amazed when they are betrayed by the wolf in sheep’s clothing. When the betrayal is carried out the enemy must smile at your stupidity.   When you see what becomes of King George V father of Bertie then you will know what I am talking about; there was hardly anyone around to care for him.   In the film ‘Sideways’ when Miles and Maya have their life changing conversation at Stephanie’s home Miles here speaks of the wine pinot although Maya knows he is speaking of himself: If someone takes the time to understand pinot; they can then coax it into its fullest expression. (If they do take the time to understand) its flavours are the most haunting and brilliant; thrilling and ancient on the planet’. This is the same thing that occurs in the King’s Speech when Lionel is able to coax Bertie into his fullest expression simply because he had the patience to do so. Bertie’s brother King Edward VIII is also confident but in a very important scene it is clear that Bertie's brother does not have much love for him when he snidely mocks his stammer; this was done to a brother who cared for him. His brother therefore has to be ruled out of the picture and this is why Lionel‘s significance is further enhanced because Bertie’s wife loves him but she cannot help him to find his voice.  This is why when the final scene does come, where the King delivers his speech of course, watch as everything and everyone fades out as the king goes to room where it will be only him and Lionel facing the whole of England and witness how instrumental the presence of Lionel is to Bertie.

There are barriers that hinder the growth of the friendship in the film of course; barriers that must be overcome for it to flower. There is the obvious class distinction: Bertie coming from royalty believes in civility as opposed to Lionel who is an every man who believes in having a good time; having a good time normally means shedding your formal persona (cursing in a friendly manner, belch openly, flatulence everywhere, drinking, no knife and fork only spoon for everything etc). (Go and watch ‘Titanic’ again ladies if you need to be reminded).  You should also note that Geoffrey rush as Lionel almost reprises the role that he played in ‘Shakespeare in love’ his comedic flair is tempered however by moments of seriousness which is why it is Oscar worthy. There is also the question about what it means to achieve or overcoming obstacles which is what the film is about basically. In this film Lionel has to learn patience with his wife reminds him that he should not hastily wish for Bertie to succeed because he never did.  These obstacles are in the film of course and there is also the matter of being open with each other and being honest with yourself. This can be seen in another stellar moment for Colin firth when he shares a tender moment with his wife Elizabeth. This film is not about one scene only. This film succeeds because of how it is told for as a period piece there should be some who are acquainted with the history but few are acquainted with behind the scenes. With history characters are oftentimes engraved in stone they seem rigid and this was why Mozart in ‘Amadeus’ as a childish character worked so well. In this film you get the same thing here and you get to discover the humanity behind the characters.

I mentioned before that this was the only film that moved me for 2010 and I say this because when a film moves you it tends to dismiss some of the incredulous moments. This film is entirely cogent so I am not questioning much in it especially as it is supposed to be a period piece but this is where ‘The King’s Speech’ supersedes its competitors of 2010. Firstly, ‘the Social Network’ was a good film from a technical point of view: Screenplay, editing, musical score, acting etc but it did not make me feel much which is why it seemed more like a film that depended more or less on the screenplay. It failed in this aspect because Eisenberg as Zuckerberg failed. The screenplay did not highlight one moment where you got a sense of his emotional state; it merely hinted at this but never dug deep enough and so the movie became more about the politics than anything else. This is why I said in my review of ‘The Social Network’ that made eisenberg too much of a smart talker and it all depended on the actions of the characters around him to jolt him into some form of realization however there was no scene where he actually reflected on his life and this is why the film felt hollow emotionally although it was a smartly written one. ‘The King’s Speech’ gave us that moment as i mentioned earlier and I am here speaking of the time when he opens himself up to Lionel and finds a friend. The film nailed it and this was due largely to the performance of Colin firth. In ‘The Fighter’ I mentioned, as everyone knows, that the film was too much about Dickie as opposed to Mickie. I suggested in that review that the film should have opened with Mickey fighting so that it would have been established that he was the star; he was the up and coming fighter. The film failed because instead it focused on Dickie in the opening credits and then only later tried to revert to Mickey and this is why we felt no emotional connection when he achieved his victory (See  my full review of ‘the Fighter’). ‘The King’s Speech’ did the right thing when it introduced Bertie as the Duke delivering a speech on the king’s behalf and he fails. This is where you have to start in an underdog film; you have to start at the point where the person is a failure or is considered a failure and then you watch them gradually rise to the top which is why you will be emotionally moved when he has to deliver another address as the King and not merely as his representative. ‘The Kings Speech’ thus supersedes ‘The Fighter’. ‘The Black swan’ was too metaphysical it made you think and you were able to understand the philosophy but  had it not been for Natalie Portman’s performance the film would have collapsed simply because there was no emotional resonance; it was tense for sure but not emotionally resonant. When a film makes you tense but there is no emotional release it does not achieve fully what it set out to do. ‘The King’s Speech’ thus supersedes ‘The Black Swan’. I loved ‘Inception’ but as i stated in my review it was a film more about the concept than about any real dramatization which is why the focus was solely on Cobb. The other characters seemed bland by comparison and were only incorporated due to the role they played in the action. I  mentioned in my review that it would be nominated for Screenplay, visuals and other technical awards  and probably best film but I knew it would not win. It is still innovative however. ‘The King’s Speech’ thus supersedes ‘Inception’.

This is the best film of the year. The only reason it will not win is because of the American views towards the monarchy and their republican virtues that led them to conquer the British in the American revolution in the 1700’s. The only reason it won’t win therefore is politics but the fact still remains that ‘The King’s Speech’ is the best film of the year. ‘The Queen’ with Helen Mirren was more about the politics and it was therefore not very transcendent however in this film, through the character of Lionel played by Geoffrey rush, who is an everyman sort o person, everyone who watches this film can sit back and enjoy without thinking too much.  I like the Winston Churchill character played by Timothy Spall. I think that is how a lot of people imagine him to be which is why I found it sort o’ humorous. This is the best film of the year.