The King's Speech

I can enjoy fine movies with minimalist acting. Where the actors spend a lot of time saying nothing, but looking very serious, or hurt, or angry or whatever. The kind of the thing that lots of young American actors like to do these days. Where emotions are bottled up. This can be very effective. But sometimes, you just want to have a good, old-fashioned wallow in the kind of meaty, no-holds barred acting that, frankly, the British do best. And the best, most satisfying example of that this year is THE KING'S SPEECH, a terrific, interesting, engrossing and surprisingly emotional film about a monarch who stutters. In the years between the two great wars of the 20th Century, King George V ruled England and its colonies with a stern disposition and unshakeable self-confidence. His eldest son, Edward, is a dashing playboy type, but looks forward to his time on the throne. Younger son Albert ("Bertie") is shyer and more conservative...in large part because he has a rather pronounced stammer that years of consulting experts has done nothing to cure. He has a strong wife in Elizabeth, and dotes on his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret. And he has no ambitions to be king. His wife convinces him to start consulting with Speech Therapist Lionel Logue, a commoner with some highly uncomment techniques. Not only does he work on the mechanics of speech, but he believes that stammers also come from a psychological place as well. He's a sort of psychologist too. He works with the prince, insists that two men work on a first name basis, and through sheer force of his eccentric personality, begins to wear the reserved Albert down to the point where we learn much about his upbringing. And then, as WWII nears, George V dies and Edward serves only briefly, because the scandal of his love affair with divorced American Wallace Simpson forces him from the throne...and George is horrified to find himself about to be crowned. And eventually, George will have to give perhaps the most important nationwide radio address anyone had ever given in England up to that point...a speech rallying his people to the cause of war. He can ill afford to stammer his way through a speech that needs to inspire confidence and patriotism. It's a fascinating story, utterly engrossing. But it's the uniformly great acting that elevates this to such a high level. Small but effective parts are handled by folks such as Michael Gambon (King George V...excellent), Derek Jacobi as the archbishop, Guy Pearce as King Edward (he's quite good) and Jennifer Ehle in a small but delightful role as Logue's wife. Helena Bonham Carter is more restrained than usual, but also very effective as the Queen. She clearly dotes on her husband, which makes her very sympathetic, yet she also shows that the trappings and conventions of royalty suit her. The two appear to be that seeming rarity, a royal couple that are actually happy with each other. But all this great acting is just icing on the cake for the pure movie-going joy of watching Colin Firth (as King George VI) and Geoffrey Rush (as the uncommon commoner) go toe-to-toe. Both actors are at their finest. Rush can incline towards the hammy (as in the PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN movies) but when the script matches his natural characteristics (such as the unappreciated QUILLS)...he's just a joy to watch. His timing is exquisite and his commitment to his work is amazing. And Firth, though a more "restrained" actor, chews into his role with understated ferocity (this seems to make no sense...but see the film and you'll understand). He makes his Bertie so sympathetic...but rather than just playing a shy stammerer, we see his integrity, his wit, his pain and his explosive temper. His struggle against the casual attitude Logue takes with him is so much fun to watch, as are the great moments these two have together when they discover how well the King speaks when he is cursing. The two develop an odd but deeply affecting friendship. I don't know if the film presents history accurately...but it sure presents history as it would be nice to believe it happened. Both actors should be slam dunks for Oscar nominations...and Firth will be hard to beat. It may be his best "upper class British" performance to date. The film is a bit manipulative. The climactic moments being heavily punctuated with Beethoven seems a bit heavy handed. Some of the dialogue is just TOO good to be believed. But the two actors and their co-stars plow right through any weaknesses or pandering to the audience. A measure of the success of the film...my 23 year old son and 18 year old daughter loved it. For a film so far out of my son's comfort zone to grab him to the extent it did says a lot. This is a film worth seeking out and seeing immediately.

If you don't already know, this is one of the greatest movies of the 21st Century. The acting is fabulous,screenplay is supurb, costumes beauutiful, sets 100%. I will gush no further. I am a huge movie buff; have probably seen Citizen Kane a dozen times.

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter turn in virtually flawless performances in this virtually flawless film which has a shot at making the Top 100 of All Time. Firth plays King George VI, nee the Duke of York, familiarly known as "Bertie" to his family, who reigned over the Great British Empire from 1937 to 1951. As the second son of King George V and Queen Mary (she for whom the ocean liner was named), Bertie was "the reluctant King," who came to the throne after his brother David (King Edward VIII, nee the Prince of Wales, subsequently the Duke of Windsor) abdicated the British throne to marry "the woman he loved" the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson with whom he had been carrying on a dalliance for years. Mrs. Simpson continued affairs even while she dated the King, most infamously with Joachim Von Ribbentrop, one of Hitler's intimates, who sent her a fresh bouquet daily for years. King Edward VIII was a clubman, a gambler, a womanizer and a moral and intellectual lightweight who was remarkable for his vacuous conversation, his patronizing racial and religious attitudes, and his opinion of Hitler as "not such a bad chap." In short, he was the wrong King at the wrong time, that being the prewar 1930s. With the world mired in Depression and being ruled by racialist dictators, it is an open question how he, as moral leader of Britain, would have responded to World War II. History tells us that the imperious and remote George V wanted Bertie to ascend the throne in lieu of David in any case. Bertie, who was "prone to tears" as a sensitive child, was raised at a distance from his parents (quite common in those generations), was a left-hander forced to be a "rightie," was put into uncomfortable braces for being "knock-kneed," was subjected to ongoing physical and emotional neglect by his Governesses, and was teased by his siblings and peers for his stammer, which worsened as the years progressed. His father, unkind though well-meaning, berated him for his speech impediment and forced him to speak publicly, a humiliating experience. In 1926 Bertie made the acquaintance of Lionel Logue, an unorthodox speech therapist who helped George VI become a great public speaker. Logue also became a close friend for the rest of the King's life, and aided him in making most of his public addresses. Most of THE KING'S SPEECH focuses on Bertie's unexpected ascension of the throne and his duty to lead the British Empire in time of war using his words alone. In many ways George VI was unlucky; though media was coming into its own, in his reign particularly every speech was live, with recording and editing techniques that were exceptionally primitive. Given the era, a stuttering King would have been seen by most of his billion subjects as weak. And George VI faced a crisis in World War II that no British monarch has faced before or since. Thus, Logue's task was a herculean one. Rush plays the Australian Logue brilliantly, eschewing a "Crocodile Dundee" accent for a caustic irreverence. Though this sometimes enrages the King, Logue speaks to him man to man not man to monarch, gaining his trust. He becomes the King's true brother. Their relationship, serious and comic by turns, makes this a "Buddy Film" nonpareil. Firth is spectacular as the King. He never misses a beat, despite the difficulty of invoking a stutter where one is not present. He also shows us a kind, gentle, occasionally truculent, and altogether human King George VI, a man deeply in love with his wife and daughters (one the present Queen, Elizabeth II), dedicated to his nation, pained by his brother's lack of responsibility, agonizing over assuming a role he never wanted, and terrified of failing his subjects. Helena Bonham Carter plays Queen Consort Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) as a warm iron hand in a velvet glove. Elizabeth has no pretensions at all; she simply loves her family, and embodies the old adage that "Behind Every Great Man There Stands a Woman," never failing to support and wisely counsel her husband, even when she takes him to task at one point for being unduly rude to Logue. "You apologize," she calmly advises, when he asks her what to do. She dries his tears. She stands by her man in the best way imaginable. Of everyone he knows, only she intimately feels the loneliness he knows in being the King-Emperor. This is a film well worth seeing, and seeing many times, with the kind of depth that ensures its status as a true classic.

実在の人物の物語であるというリアリティがある作品です。立場に対するプレッシャーと吃音発症の負の連鎖はとても痛々しいですが、それを克服する過程が見る人に勇気を与える作品だと思います。エンターテイメントを通して吃音への理解を深められたと感じています。

This film is notable for a number of reasons. Some of them are wholly predictable, other less so. So, let's start with the things one might expect. First, the quality of the cast is beyond reproach. Colin Firth is quite startlingly good as the shy, diffident and afflicted future King. Rush is avuncular and authoritative, while the supporting cast are pitch perfect. The delectable Helena Bonham-Carter puts more flesh on the young Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and future Queen Mother, than even this high quality script might have allowed, while the brief appearance of Michael Gambon is a nice study in both Saturnine severity and pitiful confusion as George V nears his end. For me, however, the cream of the supporting cast is Guy Pearce's portrayal of the Duke of Windsor. David is shown as essentially complacent and, beneath it all, weaker than his poor, derided brother. Pearce nails the clipped frustration and the arrogant languor perfectly. So far, so good. Where this film scores even better, however, is in the rather more playfully unpredictable script and the way the performers inhabit it. At first sight, this may appear to be nothing more than a rather dry period piece, but what stands out when you watch it is just how FUNNY it is. Yes, you heard right: funny. When I first saw this at the cinema I laughed out loud more loudly and more often than I have at many comedy films. The whole thing careers along at a lively pace, held together with this quick-witted and coruscating wit. Possibly my favourite moment of the whole film comes when Lionel Logue's wife arrives home early from playing bridge to find some rather unexpected visitors to her home. It's a beautiful little pen painting of the awkwardness of the class system of the time, and beautifully judged by all. But of course, all this wouldn't work as a comedy alone, which makes the quality of the dramatic playing all the more satisfying. Since receiving the DVD, I've watched it several times more and have not tired of the standard of the work and the little gems that each view manages to reveal There are no real low points; this is a film that does something very rare: it manages to combine a host of already exemplary components into a pretty near perfect whole. There are no major faults at all, and very few minor ones that I can remember. It is, quite clearly, a film of a very high standards, and richly deserves the plaudits it has received.

Réalisé par le britannique Tom Hooper (aussi aux commandes des Misérables version 2013), Le Discours d'un Roi ne rafla pas moins de 4 Oscars en 2011 : Meilleur Film, Meilleur Réalisateur, Meilleur Scénario et Meilleur Acteur pour Colin Firth. L'histoire, tirée des mémoires de Lionel Logue, se centre autours de l'alors Duc d'York, fils du Roi d'Angleterre George V, et se déroule avant qu'il ne devienne George VI, dernier Empereur des Indes et premier Chef du Commonwealth. Attend de bégaiements, il dut faire appel à un australien aux méthodes inhabituelles afin de vaincre cet handicap, barrière entre sa fonction et lui, mais surtout entre un peuple et son Roi. Le film présente tout d'abord un intérêt historique évident : l'intimité d'un Duc puis d'un Roi, les changements sociétaux de l'époque (le souverain, avec l'apparition de la radio puis de la télévision, voit son rôle évoluer, passant d'une apparition majestueuse de temps à autre à une voix, puis une image, présente dans chaque foyer), mais également dévoilant le balet des hommes de pouvoir, de l'apparition d'un Churchill imposant à l'Archevêque de Canterbury, en passant par Edouard VIII, dont le règne fut de courte durée. Enfin, la situation de plus en plus explosive en Europe n'est pas occultée, le nazisme devenant un sujet de plus en plus préoccupant pour la royauté britannique. Cependant, Tom Hooper ne commet pas l'erreur de plomber le rythme du film par une avalanche de références historiques qui aurait pu s'avérer rapidement indigeste. Au contraire, l'Histoire, présentée de manière fluide, entraine avec intelligence le récit et en devient une base aussi solide qu'exploitée avec talent, dévoilée par moment par petites touches aussi discrètes que bien placées (citons le passage où Firth annonce en pleur à sa femme qu'il n'est rien d'autre qu'un marin : en effet, George VI servit dans la Royal Navy au cours de la Première Guerre Mondiale). Cependant, au delà de son côté historique, Le Discours d'un Roi se place avant tout d'un point de vue humain, dévoilant avec une pudeur admirable l'homme derrière la couronne : le Duc d'York, écrasé par le fardeau de son héritage royal, soumis à un père autoritaire, en perpétuel retrait d'un frère ainé aventurier et coureur de femmes, et traumatisé durant son enfance par une gouvernante malsaine et par ses défauts corporels (des genoux cagneux qui l'obligèrent à porter des années durant des coques de métal, et le bégaiement, évidente manifestation physique de son mal être). Un homme tourmenté, doutant de lui-même, rêvant d'être différent (l'histoire raconté à ses filles sur le pingouin se transformant en albatros aux immenses ailes en est le parfait témoignage), mais également se battant en permanence contre ses multiples failles, avec courage et ténacité. A ce titre, je ne peux que saluer le talent d'acteur évident de Colin Firth. Emprunt des fêlures et tourments de Georges VI, il disparaît totalement derrière le rôle, peignant le souverain dans ses moindres détails, d'un clignement d'œil fugace du à son défaut d'élocution à des crises de colère aussi violentes que brusques. La scène d'introduction est ainsi magistrale, l'acteur parvenant en quelques minutes à nous faire sentir tout le mal être du Duc d'York. Remarquable ! Face à lui, interprétant Lionel Logue, Geoffrey Rush est également parfait, orthophoniste talentueux rêvant naïvement des planches, tour à tour espiègle et intraitable quant à ses méthodes, mais toujours honnête et juste. Un rôle dans lequel Rush se coule à la perfection, son talent théâtrale n'en émergeant qu'avec plus de force. Autour de ce duo central gravitent de nombreux seconds rôles qui ne déméritent pas face aux deux acteurs oscarisés : Helena Bonham Carter (tout en finesse et retenue, bien loin de ses compositions habituelles), Guy Pearce (racé et instable) ou encore Michael Gambon (impérial en George V). Cet somme de talents est alors mise en scène avec brio par Tom Hooper, dont la caméra révèle avec simplicité et justesse le portrait de ce Monarque. Au delà de l'aspect émotionnel, les prises de vue sont étonnantes de fluidité, prouvant que le réalisateur, malgré un seul long métrage à son actif avant le Discours d'un Roi (The Damned United), sait également maîtriser l'aspect technique d'un film. Jouant avec justesse sur les contre-plongées et les plongées, il parvient à nous révéler l'embarras ou le triomphe de George VI en une seule prise. Réussite qualitative tant sur un plan historique et sentimental que sur un plan technique, Le Discours d'un Roi n'usurpe en rien la flopée de récompenses qu'il récolta à travers le monde, et mérite incontestablement l'achat. Côté pratique, le coffret contient le dvd et le blu-ray, additionnés à un troisième disque de bonus, ainsi que les Mémoires de Logue dans un livre conséquent et le poster du film. Le coffret en lui-même, à défaut d'être gros, est solide et élégant de sobriété (le seul micro présent sur l'avant du coffret en dit plus long qu'une avalanche d'images).

Grandiosa película que pasará a la historia del cine. Recomiendo verla en versión original, aunque el doblaje también es bastante bueno.

Tom Hooper ( The Damned United - Der ewige Gegner ) hat sich mit The King's Speech an die inspirierenden Geschichte George VI. gewagt. Colin Firth ( A Single Man ) verkörpert King George VI. und Geoffrey Rush ( Pirates of the Caribbean ) dessen Sprachtherapeuten Lionel Logue. King George VI. hat ein Sprachproblem: er stottert. Dies führt zu einem Dissaster, als er eine Rede im Wembley Stadium halten soll. Sein Vater, King George V. setzt ihn deswegen unter Druck, stirbt aber kurze Zeit später, woraufhin King Eduard VIII. neuer König wird. Dieser muss das Amt aber abtreten und so wird der stotternde George VI. zum Anführer einer Nation und stellt sich seiner größten Herausforderung: eine stärkende Rede zu seinem Volk, um gegen Hitler bestehen zu können. Tom Hooper hat sich zusammen mit Colin Firth sehr intensiv auf diesen Film vorbereitet, indem sie alte Tapes des echten King George VI. gesehen haben und sich vom Enkel von Lionel Logue, Mark Logue, haben beraten lassen. Und es hat sich gelohnt. Colin Firth ist fast schon erschreckend gut, als stotternder König. Man spürt seine Ängste und Abgründe in die er fällt, wenn er reden soll. Als Gegenpart zu ihm steht Geoffrey Rush als Lionel Logue, der mit seinem Selbstbewusstsein die Leute ansteckt und von seinen unorthodoxen Mitteln überzeugt ist. Die beiden geben ein fantastisches Paar ab und wurden auch beide für einen Oscar-Nominiert, den Firth sogar gewann. Als starke Ehefrau und Queen steht Firth Helena Bonham Carter ( The Wings Of The Dove - Die Flügel der Taube zur Seite. Die scheint fast schon 2 Rollen zu spielen. Einmal die majestätische, vornehme Queen und die liebende, fürsorgliche Frau; auch sie wurde mit einer Nominierung belohnt. Der Film hat durch sein gutes Drehbuch (Oscar-Nominierung) einen schönen Fluss, auch wenn man die Länge von fast 2 Stunden manchmal spürt. Der Film wurde auch für den Besten Schnitt und Beste Kamera mit einer Oscar-Nominierung bedacht, und das zu Recht. Die Kamerawinkel wirken Anfangs einfach, geben dem Film aber eine interessante Perspektive. Und durch die guten Schnitte hat man immer den besten Blickwinkel und die wichtigen Personen im Bild. Features der Oscar-Edition: Neben dem üblichen Audiokommentar gibt es auf einer zweiten DVD noch ein rund halbstündiges Making-Of, eine Q&A-Session (mit vielen interessanten Infos) und 2 Originalreden des echten King George VI. (die Originalrede aus dem Film und eine nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg). Gerade wenn man dieses Archivmaterial gesehen hat, weiß man Colin Firth's Leistung noch mehr zu schätzen und sieht bzw. hört, wie nah er am Vorbild war. Ein kleines Interview mit Mark Logue gibt es auch noch, was noch schöne Informationen zu Tage fördert. Fazit: The King's Speech ist ein Film mit einer der inspirierendsten Geschichten überhaupt, erzählt von überwältigenden Darstellern und tief bewegenden Bildern.