The King's Speech

Yes, yes, I know, it's Tuesday. I'm well aware that I am, in fact, a day late in this post. However! I did see the movie yesterday, so it was actually a matinee that I saw on Monday. [It's also fitting that this movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards this morning] Also, I was busy yesterday afterwards [a rare thing, I guarantee] watching my dear Vancouver Canucks absolutely trounce the Dallas Stars. Now I won't bore you with the details of how amazing it was to watch my team win, but I do have an interesting observation about seeing it in person. Watching a game at the arena, with all those fans can be quite similar to seeing a movie in the theatre. Both are infinitely better in person. While watching a movie or a game at home is still pretty great, and you can pause to get a drink, or run to the store during intermission, what you really miss is the atmosphere. In the theatre, the lights fade to black, the sound envelops you and you get to watch your movie on a 20 foot screen. For me this never, ever gets old. Which is more than likely one of the reasons I continually shell out $12.50 to see movies at the theatre, even if I have to see them all by my lonesome.

That's enough waxing poetic, I think, on to the flick!

Honestly, I don't think there is a movie that is better suited to a rainy Vancouver Monday than 'The King's Speech.' This time, instead of hitting up Metrotown, I drove out to the SilverCity in Coquitlam, and while the seats weren't quite as nice, the crowd certainly was. It was an interesting mix of lovely old ladies and young folks like me. I'm not surprised that this movie has been nominated and won many a statue this awards season, as the people who give them out love a good 'based on a true story' and I have to admit I'm a sucker for them as well.

Like most living in the Commonwealth I have a very general knowledge about the monarchy, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, King Henry VIII [thanks CBC and the Tudors!], you know, the biggies. 'The King's Speech' expanded my knowledge of the current monarch's family and manages to cover an amazingly large amount of information in it's two hours, most of it coming while Geoffrey Rush's speech 'defects' teacher, Lionel Logue, digs into the reasons for the Duke of York's stammer.

Speaking of Geoffrey Rush, he was fantastic. I know Christian Bale snapped up the Golden Globe for best supporting actor, but after seeing both 'The Fighter' and 'The King's Speech' I certainly think the Oscar race is going to be a tight one. There's something perfectly charming about Rush, not only in this role, but in most things he's in. He always seems to have that twinkle in his eye, as if he's in on some secret that you would like nothing more than to know, I don't know, maybe it's an Australian thing. This twinkle was absolutely perfect for Lionel Logue, also an Australian, who uses odd, but effective treatments to help his patients.

Colin Firth was also fantastic as the troubled man who never believed in his ability to be king. As I was watching the movie I went through the movie rolodex in my mind to see if I could remember Colin Firth ever playing royalty before. None came to mind, which I found surprising for a man so well known for playing Mr. Darcy, a nobleman. It just seemed to me that if you can play a member of the aristocracy, a member of the royal family would just be the next logical step up. That being said, there was absolutely NO Darcy in George IV, or Bertie as he was more fondly referred to by family and Logue. Bertie is so self-conscious of his stammer that it takes over all parts of his life. The wireless has just come onto the stage and the Royals no longer just need to look presentable, but also need to be able to speak eloquently to their people, something Bertie could barely do with his wife, let alone in public to strangers. I have to imagine it must have taken Firth a lot of effort to take the stammer on, but he does it beautifully. Your heart most especially breaks for him as he makes up a story for his princesses before bed. A sweet, but still halting story, since not even being home with his family can alleviate his speech impediment. I suppose there is a small part of Darcy in Bertie, and his desire for things to be done in a 'proper' manner. And while he does allow for some protocol to be broken by his unorthdox speech pathologist, that certainly doesn't translate to his brother's insistence on seeing a married [gasp!] American [GASP!]. Guy Pearce [who I LOVE, and, interestingly, another Aussie] plays Edward, who briefly takes the throne after their father dies, but then abdicates so he can marry his twice divorced American, forcing the reluctant Bertie take the throne on the eve of World War II.

The speech, for which the movie is aptly named, comes at the end of the movie, after war has been declared with Germany. It's George VI's first proper address to the Commonwealth since taking the throne from his brother, and while it may be a 'bit halting at the start' as young Elizabeth says, it ends up coming across almost perfectly, and more than that you can tell that he means every word of it, especially now that he can get the words out.

One last note on acting before I sign off. Helena Bonham Carter. I don't know what to say, more than that she was absolutely lovely. I'm so used to seeing her as the evil Bellatrix Lestrage in 'Harry Potter' or all gussied up for one of her many roles in Tim Burton movies. There was no darkness in her Elizabeth, just a wife concerned for her husband. While I do love her as the crazy/neurotic type I would love to see her in more of these type of roles where you can really see how good an actress she is.

Last, but most certainly not least, I'm dedicating this post to my awesome friend Craig. Not because he has a love for period dramas, or the now defunct UK Film Council, but because it was his birthday yesterday and I promised I would. Happy birthday buddy, see a good movie! Which I know is hard in the filmic wasteland that is Prince George!

That is all, see you next Monday!