The King's Speech--Colin Firth brilliant again

[southendmd]

*the usual possible spoilers warning*

I haven't seen The King's Speech mentioned much, so I thought I'd start a little thread.

Just saw it tonight.  I'd seen the trailer and thought it would be interesting.

Of course, having loved him in A Single Man, I had high expectations of Colin Firth.  He doesn't disappoint, I'm happy to say.  

Just like A Single Man, the camera lingers on his face, letting him express what he needs to, often without words (which are the King's nemesis).  

After George V dies, "Bertie", the Duke of York, senses that he's in for a greater role, yet is hampered by a life-long stammer.  He meets Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist with unorthodox methods.  A very unlikely, but true story of a friendship unfolds.  They challenge each other.  

Lionel dares to delve beyond just the surface, questioning the origins of the stammer.  Luckily, no neat psychobabble answers here.  

Excellent performances by Firth and Geoffrey Rush (who also is executive producer).

Overall, an incredible cast, really evoking the period.  Timothy Spall as Churchill!  Guy Pearce absolutely dead-on as Edward VIII.  

Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!), and an almost unrecognizable Anthony Andrews as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.  (Oh, and for fans of the film, Michael Gambon plays George V.)

Alexandre Desplat (from Lust, Caution) did the music.  A very effective use of Beethoven's 7th.

The R rating is just silly. 

[brianr]

I thought it was brilliant. I guess the R rating is for the language. It is only M in Australia (not recommended for under 15) it has not yet opened in NZ (I saw it while back in Sydney for Christmas)  I hate the F word ( sorry but a legacy of teaching and reprimanding teenagers for 40 years) but it was justified in this movie.
I gave it a 10 on my IMDB ratings and that is rare for me (you can guess one of the others )
I was a bit concerned beforehand as Colin Firth and George VI have no resemblance whatever but found that did not matter. Colin Firth is quickly becoming my favourite actor. Of course, I was proud that Logue was an Aussie and portrayed by an excellent Aussie actor. As a keen reader of Royal histories I knew the general story beforehand. I have always believed that God's mysterious hand was in the succession dilemma. Just imagine if England had entered the war with Edward as King, the thought is too horrible to contemplate.
 There was discussion in the Sydney papers that the Duke of York opened Australia's first Parliament house in 1927 despite the stammer. But others pointed out that Logue began treating him in 1926. It would be interesting to find a recording of that earlier speech. I was only 7 years old when George VI died but can clearly remember the newspaper headlines and the solemnity of the adults around me that day. It is probably my earliest memory of a newsworthy occasion. The Queen Mother approved the original screenplay but asked that the film not be made in her lifetime.You can find the actual King's speech at the beginning of WW2

[Monika]

I´ll give this one a go, I think. I read about a few days ago (after finally having watched A Single Man) and it seemed interesting. Colin Firth seems to be an obvious choice for the role.

[Penthesilea]

I´ll give this one a go, I think. I read about a few days ago (after finally having watched A Single Man) and it seemed interesting. Colin Firth seems to be an obvious choice for the role.

Early February for you (opening on the forth, I think), and mid-February (17th) for me.
This looks like a good movie.
I have to admit that I always mix up Colin Firth and Colin Farrell's names. Just the names, not the guys.

[Monika]

I have to admit that I always mix up Colin Firth and Colin Farrell's names. Just the names, not the guys.

I do that all the time with Colin Farrell and Will Farrell

[Meryl]

*the usual possible spoilers warning*

I haven't seen The King's Speech mentioned much, so I thought I'd start a little thread.

Just saw it tonight.  I'd seen the trailer and thought it would be interesting.

Of course, having loved him in A Single Man, I had high expectations of Colin Firth.  He doesn't disappoint, I'm happy to say.  

Just like A Single Man, the camera lingers on his face, letting him express what he needs to, often without words (which are the King's nemesis).  

After George V dies, "Bertie", the Duke of York, senses that he's in for a greater role, yet is hampered by a life-long stammer.  He meets Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist with unorthodox methods.  A very unlikely, but true story of a friendship unfolds.  They challenge each other.  

Lionel dares to delve beyond just the surface, questioning the origins of the stammer.  Luckily, no neat psychobabble answers here.  

Excellent performances by Firth and Geoffrey Rush (who also is executive producer).

Overall, an incredible cast, really evoking the period.  Timothy Spall as Churchill!  Guy Pearce absolutely dead-on as Edward VIII.  

Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!), and an almost unrecognizable Anthony Andrews as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.  (Oh, and for fans of the film, Michael Gambon plays George V.)

Alexandre Desplat (from Lust, Caution) did the music.  A very effective use of Beethoven's 7th.

The R rating is just silly. 

Thanks for starting this thread, Paul.  I agree with your take on the film.  It's excellent!  Colin Firth just gets better and better, and I'm glad he's been getting roles with real substance lately.  The cast were all marvelous, and I didn't even recognize Jennifer Ehle, the actress who so beautifully played Elizabeth Bennett to Colin Firth's Darcy in A&E's terrific "Pride and Prejudice" some years ago.

Brian, thanks for the link to the real King's speech.  Fascinating! 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Special treats for Brideshead Revisited fans:  Claire Bloom as Queen Mary (who knew she was still around?!).

Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck

In fact, I'm sure that somewhere I've seen a marvelous photograph, from the funeral of her son George VI (d. 1952), of the three queens together, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth ("the Queen Mum"), and the present Queen Elizabeth.

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck

In fact, I'm sure that somewhere I've seen a marvelous photograph, from the funeral of her son George VI (d. 1952), of the three queens together, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth ("the Queen Mum"), and the present Queen Elizabeth.

I know the photo you speak of Jeff, and know that this is not it, but it has them in it, along with George VI and Princess Margaret:

[southendmd]

Assuming you meant Queen Mary and not Claire Bloom, Queen Mary lived until 1953:

Pardon my misplaced modifier. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Pardon my misplaced modifier. 

Speaking grammatically, I don't think the modifier was misplaced. I was just be deliberately obtuse.