And The Oscar Goes To...

The King’s Speech

***1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Tom Hooper

Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and Michael Gambon

Running time: 118 minutes

The virtual front-runners for this year’s Best Picture Oscar may seem different, but have much in common.

The first is the zeitgeist-defining The Social Network, from broody, cynical, ultra-stylist David Fincher and quick-as-a-whip screenwriter Aaron Sorkin – it insightfully chronicles how broadening one’s own social network leads to a more impersonal existence.

The second is a crowd-pleasing historical drama called The King’s Speech, from Tom Hooper, known best for his work on miniseries centering on Queen Elizabeth and John Adams, and playwright David Seidler. It thoroughly examines how the arrival of radio would lead to a cohesive, well, network between royalty and their citizens.

When the Academy decides to vote in February, I’m predicting that they choose the latter film, less polished than Network yet just as riveting and more inspiring, as the best of the year.

Tales of adversity usually feature ordinary people accomplishing an extraordinary feat, but The King’s Speech instead focuses on a man in an extraordinary position who must strive to complete an ordinary task for the benefit of his citizens.

Colin Firth plays King George VI, back when his father reigned and he was better known to the public as the Duke of York. His family called him “Bertie.” Bertie is a stammerer, and is ridiculed by the press for his stuttering. His wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), seeks the help of an unconventional Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), to help mend his speech. After one visit, Bertie is uninterested.

However, the emergence of radio casts the Royal Family into the scenario of making public statements and commenting on diplomatic matters in Europe. Bertie becomes intimidated by this new responsibility, especially around his confident, fair-spoken father, King George V (Michael Gambon) and brother, Edward VIII (Guy Pearce).

To combat his stammering, and with the need to reach a public audience more vital as the threat of war becomes imminent, Bertie takes up Lionel’s proposition and the two start teaming up on elaborate speech therapy (expanding the diaphragm, vocal exercises such as reciting Shakespeare, jumping up and down to loosen the tension, etc.) while forming a close friendship.

This bond between Bertie and Lionel is not as much about fixing a voice as it is about finding one. As the two men become acquainted, Bertie comes to find Lionel as his only true friend. The shackled, controlling life of the Royal Family may have been the cause of his stammering, since Bertie, rarely favoured by his father and mocked by his brother, has been lonely and repressed for much of his life.

The need to perfect his public speaking becomes even more grave when his brother abdicates the throne, leaving Bertie the position of King. Of course, this means that Bertie gets the notable word over the radio.

In one scene, Gambon’s King George V quips that the social power of the radio is turning the most powerful people into the lowest form of public servant: actors. This statement got rapturous laughter from the audience I saw the film with, likely because The King’s Speech features the finest performance given on any screen this year, courtesy of Colin Firth.

When actors commit to a role, much dedication is required to master the nuances of the dialogue in order to fit the character. Firth, instead, is challenged to work out the mannerisms, rhythms and inner plights of a character who struggles to even open his mouth.

He brings remarkable colour and depth to the role: in an early scene, where he tells a bedtime story to his young daughters, Firth battles with his words. He is simply trying to talk to his daughters, but stumbling on a few words, his heartfelt admission of love to his children is also a roadblock that he must deal with. It’s a gripping, deeply moving, mesmerizing portrayal.

It’s always welcome to see a movie where the performances are better because they bounce off ones that are equally as good, supporting and feeding off one another. Rush is excellent as the King’s wry, confident confidante, and shares precious (and quite hilarious) ping-pong banter with Firth. Logue, who was a failed stage actor without proper credentials for speech therapy, never saw his sessions with Bertle as a way to break into the upper echelon of royal life, but as his duty.

Helena Bonham Carter, the devoted wife, and Guy Pearce, the not-so-devoted king, bring considerable depth to their characters, as well, although both are underused.

The King’s Speech, originally planned as a stage play, comes from the pen of a playwright named David Seidler. Seidler struggled with a stutter for much of his life, so this film is his triumph, too. In fact, the story of his life may be more interesting. As a young boy, after his family fled Britain to the United States during the 1930s, he listened to the King’s wartime radio broadcasts, and used King George VI as an inspiration to improve his own manner of speaking.

This is a “passion project” of the highest order, and Seidler finely measures the balance between character study, educational tool and buddy comedy entertainment (some may even call it a “bromance.”) It is sharp and sympathetic storytelling.

The King’s Speech, with its historical setting and period piece mannerisms, may have “Oscar bait” written all over it, yet it is a film that royally deserves the gold it’s bound to get. This is Seidler’s triumphant speech, really, captured in a way that is as gripping as it is crowd-pleasing. The Academy has their work cut out for them.