Introduction:
Oscar buzz can be a
dangerous thing. You keep hearing how great a movie is and you get your
expectations set so high. Then you watch the movie and wonder what the heck all
those critics were smoking. So I’m always curious to see Best Picture winners,
I’m also a bit leery of them. Is this winner from 2010 all it was cracked up to
be?
Summary:
Being the son of King George
V (Michael Gambon) can never be easy at the best of times. But for his son, the
Duke of York (Colin Firth), it is torture. He has a terrible stammer that
renders him nearly useless at public functions. Luckily his brother Bertie (Guy
Pearce) is next in line for the throne. So the Duke can dally with speech
therapy, even the eccentric techniques of Lionel Logue (Geoffry Rush).
However things start to get
serious when Bertie begins to neglect his royal duties, and King George is
deathly ill. The Duke realized that the time might come when he may have to
take on the role as king, and speaking, especially via radio will be a
necessity. Logue is confident he can help him, but the Duke must be willing to
open up t the man and really look hard at the reasons for the stammer. Will the
two be able to get the Duke ready to become the monarch and deliver The King’s Speech?
Good Points:
- Some top notch acting by all the cast
- The story is engaging and entertaining
- Evokes the sense of period with some excellent sets and costumes
Bad Points:
- A movie focused on dialogue and acting – dull for some viewers
- Some historical inaccuracies and speculation may annoy some historians
- Some of the language in the film may offend viewers
Overall:
It’s easy to see why this
movie swept up awards in 2010, its well made, well acted and well directed. The
story is interesting and Firth brings the struggles of the Duke/King to life.
Even Helena Bonham Carter reminds us that she can play someone other than a
lunatic or eccentric. But the whole movie is also very entertaining and you
can’t ask for more than that.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 4
Sound: 4
Acting: 5
Script: 4
Music: 4
Direction: 4
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
Curious about a full review,
sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.
A good script can be ruined by bad acting and direction (even then you usually can spot the gold underneath) but nothing can save a bad script. This one was well-written, and the director and actors didn't ruin it.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. The script really is the foundation, and everything else builds on it. When something is thrown together in the script you can usually tell, and most often it's a mess.
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