The King’s Speech Blu-ray Review

• 8th May 2011

If recent historical events are anything to go by, as a nation our bark is worse than our bite. In this vastly presidential world, we Brits stick out like a sore thumb with our monarchs and staunch traditionalism, and we’re certainly very good at appearing to conform to the republican standards of what is fast becoming the United States of Europe – that is, until our monarchy proudly finds itself under the spotlight. Then we are only too quick to unroll the Union Jack and belt out unabashed renditions of ‘There’ll always be an England’ till the cows come home.

If ever a film were to evoke such a sense of patriotism and pro-monarchy sentiment, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech must certainly be that film. The Oscar winning, historically enriching masterpiece of British cinema is one of the most culturally significant films of recent times, not least because it is a British film celebrating British heritage. In the title role, following his success and acclamation for the poignant and harrowing A Single Man, Colin Firth has been secured as a British institution along the lines of JK Rowling and Mr Kipling.

As for the film itself, it is so majestically crafted it’s almost a shame David Seidler had to wait for the Queen Mother to pass away before writing it; the screenplay portrays her and her family in such a noble, admirable light that it’s impossible not to respect them for their achievements, whether you’re a royalist not. And further to its credit The King’s Speech is commendably accurate – ever the font of knowledge and wisdom, grannies and granddads nationwide have been treated to a lovingly authentic trip down memory lane, the likes of which we would have imagined to be all but impossible in this sensationalised HollwoodLand age we live in. Where we see William Wallace shacking up with a princess who was born after he died and the fall of Troy taking about a week to accomplish for the sake of crowd pleasing (or not) cinema, we must give respect where it is due.

The King’s Speech has broken the mould in that it is crowd pleasing and broadly accurate. The story takes the classic form of the buddy movie when simple family man Bertie unwillingly turns into the King of England without the use of any fairy dust or company musical numbers. But when you’re a chronic stutterer the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft a-gley and when it’s all ears on him, only renegade Aussie speech therapist Lionel Logue can help simple Bertie truly transform into King George VI of England. The rest is history.

Seidler’s screenplay manages to turn what could easily have been a very high quality TV movie into an internationally acclaimed blockbuster. That is mostly down to his ability to humanise the characters when in reality they were about as human to their public as Nelson’s form atop his column in Trafalgar Square, a noteworthy achievement when you’re re-writing royalty.

The film opens with a piece of procession music which would do Elgar proud, followed by a sincerely cringe-worthy attempt by Bertie to make a formal public address to an expectant crowd. Firth’s performance is remarkably sincere and the repetition of this type of scene throughout the film never fails to impress and involve viewers with its relentless sense of utter frustration. Firth never lets us down, whether he’s spitting out a speech syllable at a time or listening awe-struck to a recording of himself flawlessly reciting Shakespeare. He ‘stammers so beautifully’ that one can’t help but be bowled over by his performance.

Whilst the title may suggest otherwise, The King’s Speech is by no means a one man show. The supporting cast is superb and gives us characters so complex and well-formed that I wouldn’t mind watching a spin-off or two about many of them.

Geoffrey Rush’s latest star turn as Logue doesn’t disappoint and keeps up the standard we’ve all come to take for granted from this jewel of the Commonwealth. Although his character is fairly ‘one note’ Rush manages to play that note flawlessly throughout and in his consistency, Logue stands out in the film as the one character who is truly sure of himself and of his dear friend and client Bertie.

Credit must also be given to Helena Bonham-Carter as George’s wife and Guy Pearce as the scandalous elder brother, Edward, for being so true to their original forms without appearing self-centred. This is the King’s moment after all, and his is the central role. No matter how significant their part, both actors keep their performances subdued and second in line to Firth’s throughout without coming across as weak.

The partnership between Hooper and Seidler is a match made in heaven. Hooper strikes the perfect balance between the grandeur and pomp a film about the royal family deserves and the realistic personalities which viewers of all backgrounds and inclinations can relate to. He takes sections of Seidler’s script which could so easily be cheap and creates illuminated, touching sequences out of them. The most stand out of these is the swear sequence, which sees King George VI of England skipping around Logue’s study singing out every profanity he can think of. Despite the tone this scene is just as sentimental, realistic and watchable as the more toned down, traditional sequences.

The King’s Speech is a once in a generation film about a once in a lifetime character. It has been handled by all concerned with mastery and exceptional vision and self-control.  Yes, it’s won Oscars and Baftas and other shiny bits of tin galore, but what will really cement this film in the history books is its ability to grab hold of history, give it a wash and a shave and turn it into one of the day’s most accessible, gripping stories.

Dani Singer