Oscar speech ready Mr Firth? Breathe deeply, speak slowly and only to me. Such is the scenario of The King's Speech, in which Colin Firth's George VI must overcome a debilitating speech defect to rally his nation on the eve of World War II. Thankfully he has the help of Geoffrey Rush's Lionel Logue, a loquacious Australian convinced he can cure the monarch's embarrassing impediment.
Monochrome coolness evokes the confining nature of royal duty in Tom Hooper's beguiling film. Packed with politics and character portraits, it's a piquant experience. Opening with a microphone and an expectant stadium, silence deepens as Prince George steps up to make a speech that resounds with painful glottal stops. The faces of the crowd fall with shame and disappointment. Beside him, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) shares the pain and resolves to find a solution.
Marbles in the mouth, stand up straight, be a man, think about it. Unhelpful advice and quackery threaten to crush the Prince's spirit. But when Elizabeth secretly visits speech doctor Lionel Logue, an unlikely - but true - relationship ensues. Unaware he's treating a future sovereign, Logue's unconventional approach is a make or break opportunity. Unavoidable duty threatens to consign the Prince to a life of public awkwardness. And when his brother King Edward VIII contemplates abdication for Mrs Simpson, George's dilemma is set to become a national disaster.
Firth is fantastic as prince and king, a quirky, likeable man crippled by his sense of failure. But Rush, as Logue, is captivating and should also be prepping for his Oscar speech. Firth's on form following years of also-ran parts in so-so movies. Oscar-nominated for A Single Man, and now headlining The King's Speech, we're seeing greater depth from an actor who does troubled and wounded with convincing intensity. Funny and poignant, the relationship with Logue is deliciously delivered.
Rush’s is the more inhabited and seamless performance, impressively so as it’s the showier role. Bonham Carter’s Elizabeth is a typically understated achievement, stirring her husband towards duty and deliverance. Surprise casting sees Australian Guy Pearce (Memento) as a pitch perfect and remarkably look-alike Edward VIII - while Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice) makes the most of her cameo as Logue’s spunky Australian wife.
Slow pace and restrained direction might mar your enjoyment if the verbal fireworks don’t capture your interest. Chilly and funereal, it exudes the period and the predicament. But it’s Firth’s scenes with Logue that fire the film. Spitting out swear words to avoid the stutters, clapping on headphones so he can’t hear his own voice – you feel the ridiculous and touching aspects of George’s dilemma.
And director Hooper ramps up the political context, making for potent history rooted in a keenly personal drama. Arch moments – Timothy Spall adding himself to the roster of Churchill impersonators and Derek Jacobi hamming it up as the Archbishop of Canterbury – augment the experience.
Ultimately, the newest thing about The King’s Speech is the setting and the characters. Battling the odds, overcoming inadequacies – it’s been done before in a hundred films from Annie to Shine. Calmly and with regal rigidity, The King’s Speech blossoms into a cheer-leading and quietly exultant movie. But first and foremost it’s Firth’s and Rush’s film.
