Release Date: December 24, 2010
Directed By: Tom Hooper
Synopsis: This story revolves around King George VI, after his older brother abdicates the throne and thrusts George into the spotlight during WWII. George suffers from an uncontrollable stammer that heightens when placed in situations requiring him to speak publicly. His wife seeks out aid from multiple speech therapists, only to be referred to an unorthodox therapist named Lionel Logue. King George is hesitant at first, but an unlikely friendship blossom between the two men allowing George to let go of his fears and find his voice.
Review: I saw this movie MONTHS ago, but unfortunately I’ve been to busy to write consistently. But, here we go.
I loved this film. I had heard so many wonderful things about it from family and friends, and decided to head to the theater by myself one Sunday afternoon to check it out. This film was impeccably cast, and I can honestly say I loved every character in it. From Guy Pearce’s portrayal of the emotionally stunted and cowardly brother to George, to Helena Bonham Carter’s unexpected performance as the Queen Mother, to Geoffrey Rush’s insanely likeable portrayal as the brazen speech therapist, to the Oscar-winning performance from Colin Firth as the frightened but loveable king, it was hard to not love the characters.
I haven’t seen Geoffrey Rush in anything besides the Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, so I was looking forward to seeing him in a different light (obviously, I need to further my movie education and queue up some of his films on Netflix). What I loved so much about his portrayal of Lionel was that he was seemingly unfazed by the enormity of the situation he was pulled into, and he simply didn’t care that his client was the future King of Britain; he was treated the same as any other client walking in from the street. He never judged George, but h was unafraid in telling him exactly what he thought about his progress or George’s unwillingness to cooperate. It was the kind of performance that made you wish you had a friend like him in your own life; one that you can rely on not only to tell you the truth, but help you achieve your goals no matter what it takes.
I love pretty much anything I’ve seen Colin Firth in, so it wasn’t hard for me to like his character in this film. His Oscar win for this role was well deserved for two main reasons: you could feel his character’s pain and sympathize it, and you truly loved him and what he stood for by the film’s end. With every tick of stutter, I gained more sympathy and oddly more understanding for George. He was riddled with fear and anxiety about not bring worthy for the title he was unexpectedly given, and frankly I think that’s something we all can relate to.
The relationship between the two men was obviously the most important part of the story, and what truly made this film so wonderful. They aren’t fast friends by any means, but you can tell when they begin to develop a level of respect and ultimately trust for one another. George is incredibly stubborn about Lionel’s methods starting out, but as his stammering lessened even just a little, it was obvious to the audience when George started to let his guard down. There were two scenes I was particularly fond of. The first was when the Queen Mother attends a session with her husband, and participates in various exercises the two men perform. They are doing ridiculous things (George and Lionel lying on the floor while the Queen Mother sits on top of her husband. The second scene, and perhaps one of the most talked about for ratings reasons, was the scene in which George is encouraged to say “fuck” as many times as he can. This turns into Firth screaming and stammering his way through the F-word while Rush stands there and watches unfazed. Hilarious.
I think in times like these, ones filled with political unrest and heartbreak everywhere we turn, its encouraging and uplifting to watch a story like this unfold. Who would have thought that a film about and old school “bromance” would be the best film of the year? The inspirational undertone of the film really came to a head when Lionel and George are arguing about one thing or another, and Lionel is asking him why he deserves to be heard on the day of his coronation (or something along those lines). To which George exclaims, “Because I have a VOICE!” The look on Lionel’s face perfectly exemplified the “a-ha” moment of the story for both men. They both knew that was the turning point not only in their friendship, but perhaps more importantly in their therapy.
Another thing I loved about this film was the use of color. In the beginning, it’s pouring rain and quite dreary (typical England), but even the interiors were dark and pretty drab (very 1940s). By the end of the film, everything was sunny and the filmmakers really played off of bright colors to evoke emotions in their audience. I think this was a relatively subtle but extremely important detail utilized to make an unconscious impact on the viewers.
All in all, you need to go out and see this movie right now, if you haven’t already. It’s the perfect movie to watch on a lazy day with your buds or family.
