Out of all the fears that a person could have, the one that has been consistently named the most common is the fear of public speaking. There are more people who fear talking in front of a large group of listeners than there are those who fear snakes, spiders, falling from great heights, and other greater threats to life. And why is this? I believe that glossophobia (the technical name for the fear of public speaking) ties into many other common social phobias, like the fear of being judged or the fear of being watched by strangers. I know that I have a certain amount of glossophobia myself, and it is most prevalent whenever I have to deliver a presentation to a group of professors and students. I overcome this fear by convincing myself that I am a confident speaker and I know exactly what I’m going to say.
This might be harder to do for other people, especially if they face some sort of obstacle whenever they talk. Like King George VI, the featured person in the award-winning biopic, The King’s Speech. King George VI, or Bertie (as he is affectionately called in the movie) was thrust into the role as the King of England, who served as the prestigious face and voice of the British government. The problem, though, is that Bertie was a stammerer ever since childhood, and speaking effectively in public became an impossibility for him. It may seem like a small problem for most, but I know enough people who stammer to know that it is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It was especially true for Bertie, whose title required him to make big, important speeches meant to spur a nation into action.
Bertie’s triumph over his detrimental speech impediment is surely an inspirational tale, namely to David Seidler, the screenwriter for The King’s Speech. Seidler, too, grew up with a stutter, and he considered King George VI as a role model. Seidler was fascinated by the way this king delivered such impassionate speeches, despite having the same problems with speaking that he had. Seidler, along with director Tom Hooper, were dead-set on making a movie that accurately and reverently told the story of the king’s journey to the throne.
Seidler and Hooper were very meticulous with the biographical aspects of Bertie’s ordeal. While this might have appeased history buffs, it does lead to my biggest complaint about the movie. Since it is VERY based on true events, the movie itself feels a bit slow and predictable. I don’t think it’s the screenwriter’s fault, nor is it the director’s. It’s just the way the story plays out. I mean, it’s a historical movie about a guy giving speeches; it could only be so exciting. Combined with the brown and gray that is splashed across all of the scenery and costumes, and you could have a rather unstimulating film. But notice that I said “could”. While The King’s Speech could easily be chocked up as a dusty old historical drama, the film actually transcends the genre through its brilliant performances and its inspired cinematography.
The star of the film is Colin Firth, who plays the stuttering royalty, Bertie. Firth won the 2010 Oscar for Best Actor with this role, and it’s not too hard for me to imagine why. Firth delivers an excellent, extremely thoughtful performance here. His faux-stuttering is very believable, and his character draws in so much sympathy from the audience. You can feel, through the way Bertie forces out his short, to-the-point sentences, that this character had suffered a lifetime of ridicule and embarrassment from his speech impediment and that his voice had been silenced for a long time. He was a vulnerable soul who had to put up a tough front in order to protect his royal family’s name. Firth’s portrayal of Bertie is truthful, poignant, and easily memorable.
Accompanying Bertie in this film is his speech therapist and “bromantic” interest, Lionel Logue, played superbly by the ever-entertaining Geoffrey Rush. It’s the developing friendship between Bertie and Lionel that gives this movie its heart. Lionel tries many times to develop a familial bond with Bertie, by calling him by his first name (a big no-no within the royal family), introducing him to his wife and kids, and sharing deep personal conversations with him. Lionel is almost a father figure to Bertie, which is played out literally when Lionel allows the king to work on a model plane that his sons were working on earlier. You get a sense that Lionel is not in this for the money or prestige of helping a member of the royal family. He simply wants Bertie to overcome his personal demons and accept his marvelous fate as heir to the Royal Throne. The relationship has many ups and downs within the story, but it never feels contrived or unrealistic; it just feels like a true friendship.
There are other memorable performances here as well. While I’m not normally a particularly huge Helena Bonham Carter fan, she did give a certain air of elegance into her role as Bertie’s wife, Elizabeth, that is worth commending. Guy Pearce, whom I’m always happy to see in movies, plays the role of Bertie’s more fortunate brother, King Edward VIII, who was so arrogant and mean to Bertie, I just loved to hate him. And finally, I want to mention Timothy Spall, who is more commonly known as That Guy from That One Thing. He had a small and yet important part as Sir Winston Churchill, and I find it funny that he had played that same role before in Jackboots on Whitehall.
I don’t usually gush over cinematography in a film, but I have to say that the camera work in The King’s Speech is FANTASTIC! There are moments in this film in which I was completely in awe as to how beautiful the shots looked, and that’s saying something for a historical drama that largely takes place in indoor corridors. In one particular scene, Bertie and Lionel walk through a park together during a thick fog. The camera follows them and swings around them, and yet it still manages to capture the fog in such a mysterious and foreboding way. Also, in many of the interview scenes between Bertie and Lionel, the camera locks in at interesting and fixed angles between the two people in the conversation. While one might consider comparing this style to a Wes Anderson film, I find that there is an energy found in these shots that is unique onto itself.
And remember the brownish-gray scenery I complained about earlier in this review? Well, sometimes it actually served as a great supplement to the sharp cinematography. Many of the scenes in this film take place in large, echoing halls and empty rooms. Yet while the physical space is ample, the camera shots are almost always cropped up to Bertie’s face, especially when he is making a speech. Shots like these apparently emphasize that while he is physically distanced from his listeners, he still feels the pressure and discomfort of forcing himself to speak to them. This technique replicates the claustrophobic sensation that Bertie must have faced whenever he had to give a public speech.
Finally, I want to mention the great score for this film, composed by Alexandre Desplat. The best compliment I could give to a film score is that it perfectly blends into the action of the movie without being noticed, and that’s what the score does in The King’s Speech. But when it is noticeable, boy, is it stupendous! In particular, when Lionel is helping Bertie practice for his coronation at Westminster Abbey, the music swells up to an uplifting and joyous pace that can’t help but make you smile. This is certainly one of the best scores I’ve heard in a movie in a long time.
The story of this movie does not offer much to those who are not history buffs or cinephiles, but those who want to give this film a chance will be rewarded. I’m sure The King’s Speech will become a required viewing in every high-school British history class in America, but there is so much more to admire about this film besides its historicity. There are the top-notched acting performances, the energetic and breathtakingly beautiful cinematography, and the wonderful dialogue written by a man with great adoration for the real-life people who inspired this movie. The King’s Speech is no less than absolutely brilliant and greatly inspirational, and it’s no wonder why it won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture.
Rating: 4 Stars
Distributed by The Weinstein Company
Running Time: 119 minutes
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