The King's Speech (DVD)
Inspirational - The King's Speech (DVD) DVD

Newest Review: ... now you may be thinking "What is this clown on about? You can't review a film off the first 5 minutes" and, of course, you woul... more


The King's Speech (DVD)


Member Name: lyndsey1989


The King's Speech (DVD)

Date: 24/07/11


Advantages: Plot, cast, characters

Disadvantages: None

*Film only review*

As soon as I first heard about this film I was desperate to see it. I did hope that I would end up going to see it at the cinema but at the time I was very busy at work and also money was quite tight so I ended up waiting for the DVD. I added it to my DVD rental list as soon as it was possible to do so but ended up waiting months. Finally it arrived yesterday and I was very pleased and looked forward to watching it.

The Kings Speech is based on the life of King George VI (Queen Elizabeth's Father). He suffered from a speech impediment and this film tells the story of how he tried to overcome this.

George ("Bertie") is the son of George V. He is second in line to the throne and therefore as his older brother is around he doubts he will ever need to take up that position. In Berties eyes this is a good thing because he suffers from a speech impediment which causes him to stammer when speaking publicly.

His wife Elizabeth can see how much his stammer is bothering him and therefore she decides to go about trying to find some help for him. She comes across a man named Lionel Logue and eagerly goes to see him. He tells her to bring Bertie in and he will see what he can do.

Initially Bertie does not take to Lionel and he doesn't think he can help him. However, after an argument with his father where his father mocks his stammer Bertie decides enough is enough and that anything is worth a try.

As I had wanted to see this film for so long I had extremely high expectations of it and I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed. I was captivated from the start and enjoyed the film throughout.

Colin Firth plays Bertie and he did an absolutely fantastic job. Right from the first scene I understood completely how difficult he was finding his stammer and I really felt for him throughout the film. As Colin Firth is in so many other films I did worry initially that I may see him as Colin Firth rather than Bertie but this was not the case at all. I forgot all about him being Colin Firth and just saw him as Bertie. The character of Bertie was very realistic and loveable. I became very fond of him and really wanted him to succeed with his speech therapy. I do not know anyone with a speech impediment but found it easy to understand how difficult it must be.

Helena Bonham Carter played Elizabeth, Berties wife (and the future Queen Mother). She did a brilliant job and this character was far from some of the other characters she has previously played. You could really see how much she cared for her husband and she was supportive to him throughout, attending his sessions with him and never becoming frustrated when he was not progressing as well as he could have been. I really liked her character and was very fond of her.

Geoffrey Rush played Lionel, the speech therapist who was desperate to help Bertie. He was an interesting character and I enjoyed watching how he persevered with Bertie, despite how difficult he was sometimes.

Other characters included Bertie and Elizabeths children Elizabeth and Margaret and Berties elder brother Edward. The two young girls (Freya Wilson and Ramona Marquez) did a wonderful job of portraying the children of Bertie. They also supported their Father and were obviously very proud of the work he did.

Edward was the typical brother that many people seem to have - live fast, die young. Edward insists on seeing a woman throughout that is soon to be twice divorced, something that was simply not acceptable in this society. This added more stress to Berties life and you could see how he was struggling to try and keep the peace between Edward and the government.

The plot flowed well and it was not at all rushed. The film seemed very laid back and it was perfect to watch on a lazy Sunday morning. It was easy to follow and although it really just followed one main plot with the sub-plot of Edwards relationship there was always plenty to focus on and I was not bored at all throughout. I always understood what was going on and I really felt as though I was there with Bertie, willing him on.

The acting in the film is perfect. There is not a single weak character and I can certainly see why the film got so many rave reviews. Even the young actresses playing the young princesses did a wonderful job and I can see them both going very far in the future.

The ending of the film was done extremely well. I enjoyed the way it ended and thought everything was wrapped up perfectly. There were some subtitles at the very end telling us what happened to Bertie and Lionel and I really enjoyed this as it meant I knew how things turned out in real life.

==Additional Information==
The film was released in 2010.
It was directed by Tom Hooper.
The screenplay was written by David Seidler.
It stars Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambon.
It is rated a 12 in the UK.
It runs for 118 minutes.
IMDB give it a rating of 8.3/10 (approx 100,000 votes).

As you can probably tell from my review I absolutely adored this film and it certainly lives up to all the hype. Colin Firth is absolutely fantastic as Bertie, providing the audience with a true to life and loveable character. The other actors in the film are also brilliant and the plot flows very well and is an interesting topic. I would certainly recommend the film to those of you who have not yet seen it, I will definitely be watching it again.

Summary: A heartwarming story