The King’s Speech

Rated R for some language.

During the holidays — at long last — “The King’s Speech” came to us folks in the boondocks. Of course, it has been in L.A. and New York for months. This is a marketing ploy to drum up interest in the film. If The King’s Speech weren’t so good, I would be inclined to take it out on the movie. No chance of that.

The King’s Speech is about the brother of Edward VIII, the guy who refused the throne for the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. This brother, Albert, Duke of York, known as Bertie, was a stutterer. This is a serious problem for a King after the invention of radio.

I gather from the movie that George V (Michael Gambon) is somewhat of a bully to his sons and to Bertie for having a stutter. He even encouraged his children to mock Bertie (Colin Firth), his second son. But despite all of this, apparently, the King thought Bertie was the strongest of the lot.

The movie starts with a speech Bertie had to give over the radio. It is painful to watch due to his stammering and the apparent anguish he experiences. Right from the beginning of the story, director Tom Hooper makes us identify with Bertie’s affliction.  We become a stutterer too. We become ashamed — and fearful — of speaking in public. Show us a microphone and a knot appears in our stomachs.

After the speech, Bertie’s wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), finds doctors to help her husband. Again, we feel Bertie’s humiliation as the butterball doctor pops marbles in Bertie’s mouth just because it supposedly worked for that Greek chap, Demosthenes. That does not work. In desperation, Elizabeth goes to some dump of a building and finds this rather odd Australian named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).

At first, Elizabeth hides the fact that her husband is a prince of the realm, but she seems to want special treatment. Lionel insists that he treats Bertie as Bertie…and even call him Bertie something that clearly annoys…Bertie. But after a lot of resistance, Bertie agrees to a little experiment. Lionel says he can stop Bertie from stuttering immediately. Lionel does just that but Bertie doesn’t realize it until much later. When he does discover that during the experiment, he did not stutter, Bertie is driven to take daily sessions with Lionel.

Then George V dies; Edward (Guy Pearce) becomes King. Bertie was happy he was not going to be King but when the incredibly weak Edward bales, Bertie becomes George VI. And the pressure increases. Especially as a very important speech…and WWII…approaches.

I should point out that I nearly had a nervous breakdown during my — I mean the King’s — speech. The director does that good a job making us feel, personally, George VI’s struggles.

Colin Firth had a very difficult problem. He had to make sure that his “Bertie’s” stutter was not too much and not too little. He had to maintain a King’s dignity but make him seem like a regular person, a tough job to do. He has to make his Bertie hitch up his britches and do his duty, just as we think we must do…and pampered King’s don’t. Firth does a marvelous job. He is incredibly subtle…and that takes more than a little talent.

Geoffrey Rush is incredibly likeable. I don’t know if he plays Lionel as the real Lionel was, but I would like to think so. Rush is a delight to watch, almost a wicked pleasure.

Helena Bonham Carter is really fun to see; she is downright regal. In fact, the entire cast is a treat. Derek Jacobi plays a really snotty Archbishop of Canterbury. Timothy Spall plays a beguiling Winston Churchill. In short, the entire cast shines.

The King’s Speech is a perfect gem of a film. I may have had to wait, but it was worth it…even if it was totally unnecessary.

Note: Although there is profanity in the movie, the point of the profanity is actually quite understandable…and comes off in an inoffensive manner.

The King’s Speech earns five bow ties out of five.