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Rating: 5 out of 5
Lately, I have been on my England wave. I watched The Queen, The Iron Lady, Darkest Hour, The Crown, and even Bridgerton. Yep, my dream is to go to England and see all the sights and sounds from Big Ben to Buckingham Palace to all the other places. I also love all the drama I have seen from the following movies and TV shows. Gotta love the British hierarchy and political system. Most of the shows and movies I talked about have one thing in common: Queen Elizabeth. Homegirl has been in charge for a long time, and her outfits are on point. This time around, we get to see Queen Elizabeth’s father in the central role and his accent to being the King of England.
What is the biggest fear that many people have?? Most people would say dying by fire or drowning. One of the biggest fears that people have is public speaking. Public speaking is one of the most nerve-racking things a person can do. To stand in front of people and give a speech about a topic. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. Just imagine being a new leader of a country, and you have to give a speech to the people to provide them with hope. What if you had a stuttering problem that made you self-conscious about speaking in public? The King’s Speech is the true story of future King George VI taking over the throne from his brother while also seeing a speech doctor.
Directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler, The King’s Speech is a story of friendship but also what one must overcome to lead a country. In 1925, Prince Albert, the Duke of York (Firth), is a stammerer and has trouble speaking to the public. While trying to deliver a speech at the Commonwealth Games, it turned out brutal for him and everyone listening. Enough to put fear in any person who already dreads public speaking. His loving wife, Elizabeth (Bonham Carter), wants to see her husband succeed and seek speech therapist Lionel Logue (Rush) after going to various other speech doctors. Lionel is known for his very unconventional methods and rules that he sets for treatment like everyone is equal in his office and calling a monarch by his nickname Bertie. After their first treatment, Bertie is asked to read aloud while listening to music. Bertie gets frustrated and storms off. After talking with his father, Bertie listens to the recorded session that Lionel gave him and realizes that he spoke as well, if not better than anyone else. Bertie decides to return for more treatment. Prince Albert’s world quickly changes with the death of his father, but in the mid-1930s, he is forced to assume the throne of the United Kingdom as King George VI due to the abdication of his older brother King Edward VIII (Pearce). The threat of Nazi Germany looms over the world as a government crisis, and Britain declares war with Germany. As the new king, he needs to make a speech to his people to give them hope.
The King’s Speech is a beautiful movie, and anyone who has to give a public speech knows how tough it can be. I always marvel at people who do commencement speeches or Ted Talks. Sometimes you can only imagine what is going through a person’s mind.
What I like about this film is the relationship/friendship between Prince Albert and Lionel. You see how two different worlds come together in making a beautiful and trustful relationship. You could see that there will be some issues with titles and how things are done at the start. When Elizabeth first comes by, and Lionel doesn’t recognize the Duchess, he talks to her like anyone else. Even when she tells him who she is, I love how he stood his ground and laid down the rules. This leads to the first introduction between Prince Albert and Lionel. Prince Albert wants the utmost respect, and Lionel wants to be equal, and you can see a slight power struggle. Like any awkward session, Lionel lays down the rules of no smoking and states he will call him Bertie. It’s funny because Prince Albert states that smoking should be acceptable because his physicians said it was okay. Lionel quickly responds that they are idiots, which in turn, Prince Albert states that they are knighted. Lionel lays down the smackdown with they are knightly idiots then. You can see the tension between the two even after the first session.
I think the movie does a great job showing what Prince Albert’s father thought of him as a king with his stuttering. It wasn’t until getting a tongue lashing from his dad and a reflective moment that Prince Albert saw that Lionel can help him. Now he did have to listen to a recording of himself that set the two on a journey. What I really like is how the two characters became friends. Through their hard work and results that they became good friends. Prince Albert talked about his struggles with his brother and some personal life information. The most significant event that showed their trust in each other was when Prince Albert got the throne and got ready for his coronation. His people tell him that Lionel doesn’t have the degree. After listening to each other sees that the man knows what he is doing and didn’t get rid of him. My overall favorite moment was when Lionel didn’t tell his wife about Prince Albert. She comes home, and Elizabeth is chilling at the table, and she is in awe. Lionel is afraid to walk out and show the King. The whole scene is funny.
Prince Albert and Prince David’s relationship is highlighted in this film. Now, if you don’t know, Prince David ascends to the throne as King Edward VIII. There is one major issue that presents itself. A constitutional crisis arises with the new king over a prospective marriage with the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. Since Edward would be the supreme governor of the Church of England, he cannot marry Simpson even when she gets a second divorce because her previous husbands are alive. Homeboy decides to give up the throne for love. You can see that David won’t make a good king as he puts his royal duties aside and is a prick towards Prince Albert.
The bests part of the whole movie is the training exercises between Prince Albert and Lionel. You want to talk about some unconventional ways, then this is the place to see it. Before I get into that, what was the purpose of putting marbles in a dude’s mouth and then having him read. Homeboy had to put seven marbles in his mouth and then read. Dude could’ve choked. Then the doctor wanted to say it was a method used in Ancient Greece. Get out of here with that mess. The first exercise was reading a passage while classical music blasts through the headphones. I would be frustrated with that, but it seemed to work. That was the normal one. Elizabeth sits on him during one of the sessions. They swing arms, do diaphragm work, and rolling on the ground. They do tongue twisters and everything imaginable.
The film’s climax was a nice cherry on top when Bertie has to give his speech to the people about going to war. You can tell he is nervous because he is all over the place. Lionel seems cool as a cucumber. During the speech, Lionel conducts Bertie at the beginning until Bertie lets loose and does a fantastic address with a slight hiccup that is really unnoticeable. Seeing King George walk off with his head held high like a boss deserves a clap.
The acting is excellent in this film. First, Colin Firth as King George VI is fantastic. I think he embodied what the late king was going through and displayed it in a way that you felt sorry for him. You also saw the stress of being a king and trying to have confidence in yourself when doing a speech. Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue was terrific. He was fun and entertaining to watch, and I loved how he stood his ground and set the rules. Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth is so elegant and delightful to watch. All three of these actors deserve so much credit for this film.
Big up to the director, Tom Hooper. He did an artful job by providing the direction that he wanted the movie to go. You got a true sense of relationships, the work that the characters were putting in, and the magnitude of each person’s decisions.
The King’s Speech is an excellent movie for anyone to watch. If you want to hit that British grind like I do, this is a film you must watch. Everyone does a fantastic job in it, and the directing is phenomenal. All Hail the King.
