The King's Speech

Each year, I pick one or two "Oscar bait" films to watch in theaters and leave the rest for Netflix (hey, it's a tough economy - gotta skimp somewhere, and these movies just do not derive as much visual benefit from the big screen as the action/sci-fi/fantasy fares).  This year, considering its rave reviews and my eternal love for Colin Firth, the choice was obvious.

The King's Speech documents King George VI of Britain's ascension to the throne from his time as "merely" Albert, the Duke of York, through taking the audience along on his emotional journey to overcome his stutter, with the enduring support of his wife and the indispensable help of an unorthodox "doctor".  The plot itself is part history (including King Edward VIII's ascension and abdication), part standard feel-good drama (a mishap/hardship is presented at the beginning; the middle is filled with hard work, self-doubt and general emotional ups and downs that build up to ... the final hurdle, whereby the protagonist's preserverance pays off and he emerges triumphant).

This straight-forward and somewhat plain story, though, was able to deliver a powerful emotional punch, thanks to the superb cast.  Colin Firth gives a characteristically subtle (except for those fierce sporadic anger bursts) performance that sneaks up on you (I didn't realize how attached I'd become to the character until my tears started flowing out of pride as the King finished his Speech).  Geoffrey Rush captured the perfect balance of humor and gravitas in his portrayal of Lionel Logue, the man who helped the king find his voice, and the amazing Helena Bonham Carter played beautifully the woman I'd always known as the Queen Mum, successfully garnering sympathy for both her and her husband (I did not think "Bellatrix Lestrange" once during the movie, and I'd just seen HP7 twice!).

Speaking of Harry Potter (and here is the fan-girl section of this review), nice to see Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) as the critical, overbearing though somewhat prescient King George V and Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) as Winston Churchill (though I must say, that was one character that fell a bit short for me - I did not even realize he was playing Churchill until the very end!).  Another nice surprise was seeing Mr. Colins from the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" in a brief but funny cameo.  Finally, to end this post (and with the mention of P&P above, you know I'm a fan and that this is coming), WHOOHOO to Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth meeting again!!!  Colin Firth does indeed share a brief (but completely squee-worthy) scene with Jennifer Ehle, his once on- and off-screen love (she plays Geoffrey Rush's wife).  I was totally screaming inside - too bad out of all my P&P-loving friends, I went to see this with one who met my hushed but excited exclaimations with a big "huh?" and a look that said "stop bouncing in your seat" ...  ...no matter, that is what blogs are for : )