The King's Speech

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

The King’s Speech is no ordinary film. It screams British melodrama but it seems like anything but when carefully scanned. Having been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including, Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce and Geoffrey Rush) and Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter), The King’s Speech is in desperate need of a trained pundit’s evaluation. Is this motion picture truly deserving of so much extolling and ballast? To determine if The King’s Speech is a great movie I recommend you watch it and sort that out for yourselves. As for the upcoming Awards ceremony I prefer to reserve this estimable honor of bestowing praise where it is due. As such I have decided to review this film panoramically. Each Actor or Actress nominated for an award will be critically acclaimed or disclaimed individually. For more on The King’s Speech and what it represents I have included a laconic but poignant synopsis as this review’s finale.

     Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter are the Duke and Duchess of York (the future King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth). Firth looks like anything other than a modern leader or king. This is why some historical perspective is essential here. Prior to the age of mass media, most royal families exuded anything other than grace, sociability, or aesthetic qualities. Many Kings, Princes and Dukes have suffered from hemophilia, insanity, epilepsy, mental retardation and a myriad of other debilitating conditions. Only in today’s age of scandalmongering, gossiping, rumor milling and television are leaders obligated to appear attractive, presentable and coherent at all times. This excuses Firth for appearing to be tall and lanky and weaselly.

     Firth deserves considerable credit for imitating King George VI’s voice with professional accuracy. As the title of the film suggests, the Duke/King suffered from a wretched speech disorder. He stammered when nervous or when faced with any sort of challenge. His diffidence in the face of social conventions caused embarrassment whenever he had been called on to deliver a speech of any sort. Rather than face opprobrium any further, the Duchess compelled her husband to seek assistance.

     After several failed attempts by bamboozingly incompetent speech therapists, Elizabeth found a solution for her struggling husband. Impoverished Australian, born Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), came to the Duchess’ aid at precisely the right moment. With King George V (played by Michael Gambon, or Professor Albus Dumbledore to fans of the Harry Potter franchise) nearing the end of his life, the Duke needed to prove himself a worthy successor or effectively deliver the key to the throne to his self-absorbed, wasteful brother. Unfortunately, the Duke failed to prove his worth before the end of his father’s life so his brother ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce). Eventually on the advice of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (the predecessor to the infamous Neville Chamberlain), Edward would abdicate in favor of his younger brother, the Duke. Pearce has been marvelous in the past, but here he is slimy and slippery. He does a poor job of playing the ephemeral King and will likely be passed over at the awards ceremony.

     Lionel Logue was born in Adelaide, Australia. During World War One, or the Great War if you prefer, Logue developed techniques for helping soldiers suffering from speech disorders. These included stretching exercises, breathing exercises and repeating tongue twisters. Once he began treating the Duke, the heroic therapist gained many affluent clients. He utilized the money he earned to treat less fortunate patients gratis. In the thirties he co-founded the British Society of Speech Therapists. Lionel accomplished a great deal. Most importantly, for our purposes here, he coached the Duke until he became King, at which time he accompanied his Excellency whenever he delivered a wartime speech to their troubled, war-torn nation. Rush is fabulous as Logue. His amazing elocution, diction, and ability to deliver speeches in any number of theatrical voices is truly a marvel. Rush is perfect for this role and will likely take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

     Helena Bonham Carter is a chameleon. She sheds her skin and changes her spots to suit each role. I could hardly believe my eyes when I recognized her as the Duchess/Queen Elizabeth. Who would have thought that Marla from Fight Club, or Ballatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter could convince worldwide audiences she is the Queen of England? Carter nearly exudes as much charisma and grace as Cynthia Nixon did portraying Eleanor Roosevelt in Warm Springs. She understands when to act curtly, and when to be charmante. Elizabeth is depicted as supportive and loving of her husband. Historically, despite having been a descendant of Robert the Bruce (remember Braveheart anyone?), Elizabeth was recognized as a commoner. Without the proper credentials, their marriage might never have occurred, as it very nearly didn’t. She rejected his proposals twice before finally consenting. Folly, woman be thy name! (A feminist just shot me)

     The most intriguing, and likely Oscar-attention grabbing interactions in The King’s Speech occur between Lionel Logue and the Duke/King (his real name is Albert Frederick Arthur George). The Duke served in both the Royal Navy (having been a turret gunner at the notable war changing Battle of the Jutland), and later he joined the Royal Air Force. His oratorical skills were not required nearly as much in those two functions. He could be brave and blend in without delivering flowery speeches. When the Dude met Lionel, the former immediately resented the latter. Lionel believed that his patients must succumb to feeling comfortable on his turf and not theirs. His surroundings must have seemed quite meager to a member of the Royal family. However, all other avenues had been dead-ends and Lionel’s methods, however unconventional, produced some immediate results. Together they learned to become friends. Lionel called the Duke Bertie (the Duke’s familial sobriquet) and Bertie called Mr. Logue Lionel. Lionel tolerated the Duke’s temper tantrums, hysterical moods wings, and often acidulous insults. Nevertheless, the great lengths which Lionel went to protect and serve the Duke and then King, seem quite heroic and historic in The King’s Speech (a play on words of course). Their interactions may well win an Oscar, provided the film’s tongue twisters did not pinwheel the minds of the Academy’s decision makers.

     Contrary to my expectations The King’s Speech is a dandy of a film. It is as historically accurate a picture as moviegoers can hope to watch. Certainly, many of the characters are shown to be appreciably kinder and more settled than had really been the case, but this is a fascinating story. With the rise of Hitler in the thirties as a backdrop for the King’s own struggles and concerns, his rise to prominence as a wartime speech deliverer is a clever triumph amidst a sea of despair and worry. David Seidler, the screenwriter for this film, is indeed a clever historical storyteller. Lovers of history and politics will adore The King’s Speech but general audiences may find it tedious and un-relatable.

Jonathan Jacobs

Member FFCC

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