The King's Speech

Bea says: After our return to DC from London, Cecil couldn't wait to take me to see this, and so last night, jet lag and all, we went to our usual hangout - the E Street cinema - for an early evening show. While in London we'd discussed the film with a writer friend, who had told us that the script had sat on hold for a long time, until, in fact, the death of the Queen Mother. I am very glad that this finally got made.

The film was very well-written indeed, with a story that captured me immediately and a stellar cast that could do very little wrong (except, perhaps, casting the brilliant Jennifer Ehle as an Australian? Don't get me wrong, she did a good job, but I did wonder why an Australian actor hadn't been cast for this part.) Colin Firth was excellent as always - "seriously underrated" I said to Cecil on the walk home. When people talk about the great actors of our generation, Firth is rarely mentioned, but he has carried every film or programme I have ever seen him do. He's easy on the eye too - although unfortunately no Mr-Darcy-in-wet-breeches moments here.

Despite taking place 60 or more years ago the story and its exploration of lives and relationships felt surprisingly up to date, and Cecil and I found a lot to discuss afterwards about our own lives and friendships, and how closely they chimed with some of the themes of the film - overcoming personal demons/difficulties, for example, and the portrayal of the relationship between Bertie and Elizabeth (another fantastic performance by Helena Bonham-Carter), which I found I related to strongly.

Cecil had left this film wanting to see it again and again (he'd rung me at an ungodly hour in London to tell me so), and I left it feeling that way too. Having seen it yesterday, there is still so much to think about, and process, and digest. Over the years to come I think I will get to know this film very well.
*****

Cecil says: My second viewing of this film, so a chance to reflect more on some of the story-line, having raved myself about the cast, the script and the soundtrack last time I wrote about it.

The context of 1930s is so well put across. Radio was suddenly forcing men (well there weren't many prominent women at the time) in power to go live, to be heard by the people; and it was not an easy time to be King of England, with relatives in Russia and Germany killed, and that guy Hitler doing rather a good job at public speaking. The pressure was on poor Bertie, and he needn't to overcome his stammer...

This is such a well-observed portayal of the fight to get rid of a stammer and of the relationship between the King and the speech therapist, with no qualifications to his name. There's a wonderful line from Churchill, which makes me wonder if it's true, when he gives the King a word of encouragement before the big speech, and reveals that he too had had a speech impediment as a youngster.

I'm not saying I have the public speaking skills of a Churchill, but I do have to give a lot of public presentations and have had to work through a lot of personal grief myself to get to that stage having also suffered with a stammer for a large chunk of my youth. The gruff "spit it out, boy" or the supposedly encouraging "just relax" or "take your time" are all thrown at Bertie by his father, and I can well remember similar words as a boy myself; or the cruel mimicry of his brother, which I can also remember from schoolmates into my teens.

But it's the exercises with the speech therapist which are perhaps most familiar. Funnily enough, I was also taught to sing by a former actor friend and he used very similar methods, even though my stammer was well hidden by that stage in my life. I just didn't have a girlfriend to sit on my tummy at the time (yes, you'll have to see the film to see that one...).

This film does work on 2nd viewing, and I'd be willing to give it another go if anybody needs accompanying to their first time. Hey, if I see it often enough, I might be able to deliver that King's Speech myself without a text...

*****