As I laid watching this movie I started with a bit of doubt. It’s hard to make historical movies interesting sometimes. Especially ones that are in the early 1900’s that aren’t really focused on the war. Sure there is the start of world war 2 that is talked about a fair amount throughout the movie but it provides no action really when moving about the plot. However, I believe Tom Hooper did a remarkable job making this biographical flick something special. I went in not knowing the background of the movie; no storyline, knowledge, or even characters in my head about this movie. When I realized that it was about George VI(played by Colin Firth) and his stammer it reminded me a little about movies such as Rainman or perhaps even Good Will Hunting. A teacher turned into their only friend.
The movie starts with “Bertie’s” speech at Wimbledon where he couldn’t get through it. He started to walk down the hallway to the microphone and you can see the nervousness take over his entire body and voices around him just become mere echoes in a failed attempt to calm him down. Once to the microphone you can see why this would be pure chaos in the mind of someone who has trouble speaking properly. Hundreds to thousands of people rise to their feet to recognize his nobility and then sit down as the broadcast begins. “3 red flashes then steady red means you’re live”. As his stuttering voice echoed through the stadium it only caused him to clog up more. It began in this way to introduce to the audience just how bad the second son of George V’s stammer really was. As the problem continued 12 years later we can see him going to a numerous amount of doctors, typical in a movie like this. You go through all the resources you can right up until you’ve almost lost hope and then the jewel of the crown arrives to save you at the perfect moment.
Lionel Lago(Geoffrey Rush) is that jewel. A charismatic man who doesn’t care about how noble you are, what Albert obviously needed. This was of course in the 1930’s when the noble chairs are used to being treated as such. Not used to a more modern day field that we’re in today where the art of language isn’t used as beautifully as it used to be. I sat back and watched as the speech treatments began and could only laugh as Lago’s “peculiar methods” were put forth. Lionel had Bertie doing things such as rolling around on the floor to loosen up the shoulders to yell one vowel out a window. Not common for a prince wouldn’t you think? This is the type of movie that gets me interested, just because you’d like to see the unusual at work.
As the movie continues you can see that trust is starting to be established as Bertie begins to open up about what it was like to grow up with such power recognized to his name and how evil it really was to be that type of man. The twist of course comes as the older brother, the one who was first in line for the throne after the passing of George V, has to vindicate the chair as he has fallen in love with a woman who has had two divorces. I could only help but think of the most recent royal wedding in this scenario as Meghan Markle is of course divorced. Times have obviously changed since the 1930’s. However, the throne is left in the hands of Bertie, which is when the change takes place from Albert to George VI. This obviously has very little effect on Lionel as Albert’s nobility never bothered him in the first place so why would it now?
This is set at the beginning of the second Great War which means that it is a very important time for men in High Chairs, especially in Britain where the war really comes to life more. A King’s speech is one that would reach millions of people across the world, so obviously it is necessary that it is spoken with power and authority. The rest of the movie I will leave up to you to watch, however this is easily a fantastic movie to watch. It’s very much a movie that will have you compelled throughout the entire movie, as long as you make sure to pay attention.
Movie Reviews by Noah Nelson 