Who would have thought that the best bromance of the year would come in the form of a period drama that chronicles the journey of a Royal crippled by a speech impediment? The story arc of Tom Hooper’s masterpiece revolves not around the controversies of the British Royal family, nor does it concentrate on Britain’s entry into World War Two, but rather revels in the remoteness of the development of a begrudging friendship between two men who, traditionally to the bromance milieu, instantly clash.
One is Bertie, the younger son of King George V, an aristocrat afflicted with a stammer that stands in the backdrop of the national crescendo, but is ultimately destined for greatness. The other is the unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue, a boorish Aussie gent who is passionate about acting. He is sought by the Duchess Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to treat the despondent Duke.
The establishing sequence shows Bertie as he is drowned in the reverberation of the microphone’s echoes, overwhelmed by the monumentality of pubic speaking as a monarchic figure and is physically dwarfed by the microphone. The man is literally choked by his legacy and lineage. The subordination he endures by his father and brother ensures that he is wrought by an inferiority complex.
Rather than a clash of personalities, it is Bertie’s (Colin Firth) refusal to acquiescence that causes their initial friction. His hesitance transcends into fury as the casual Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) insists on calling him by his family name Bertie and dropping the Majesty while in treatment because it is, as he says, “My castle, my rules.”
One instantly equates that the bumbling Brit Colin Firth is perfect for this type of role. He has after all in the past played the charmer who fumbles for the appropriate words on many occasions, (see Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually). If you think you could expect nothing less than the prerequisite “Colin Firth performance”, you my kind audience, are mistaken.
Beyond the awkward persona of yesteryear, Firth’s Bertie is regal and pompous but peppered with the right amount of torture. He creates an alt-hero in this timid figure, contrasting beautifully to the brother Edward. Guy Pearce plays the part as the bratty older brother with Great Gatsbyian flourish. When his brother questions what his time has been spent doing while neglecting his royal duties, he professes that he has been terribly busy, “Kinging.”
Rush though is the main allure, he commands the screen and enlivens Lionel with whimsy and empathy. Mind you, perhaps he’s a Bolshevik. Another reason to go see the film, you will not get that sentence unless you do.
If there was any doubt that the film revolved around the performance of not simply acting, but the performance of daily life, Michael Gambon’s terse, tyrannical patriarch King George V exposes the evolving responsibilities the royals must undertake as, “We’ve become actors.” The performances presented this piece are both stoic and full of humility. The flaws and merits of each character are given equal, profound exploration.
As this is being written, it was announced that The King’s Speech had been nominated for twelve Academy Awards. Deservedly so, it is one of the view award-show-darlings that are utterly convincing. The King’s Speech virtue lies in its denial of the grandeur and sumptuousness that usually lies within the big-budget fare in the depictions of the privileged.
However it is anchored by the essentials of contemporary cinema, characters that captivate, and actors who inhabit their roles unabashedly and completely. The subtle manner of its emotional insurgence is invigorating and incomparable.
*Disclaimer - originally published in The UCC Express, Feb. 1st 2011, Vol. 18, Issue 9
