The King's Speech

The Miracle Worker meets My Fair Lady? Well, not exactly, although this did pop into my head early in this film. But oh, this is a rare treat in film-going.

Tracing the factual and extraordinary working friendship between England's King George VI (formerly Prince Albert), played by Colin Firth, and a would-be actor/elocution coach, Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush. As Albert's royal responsibilities increase to the point of finding himself King following Edward's abdication, and the public's new love affair with radio, his debilitating stammer propels him to seek the help of Logue.

This film is not long on action or plot twists, and had a few drawn-out parts. How it makes up for this is by humor (from bawdy to intellectual) and superb close-up acting. Firth is hitting his career stride with A Single Man and now this. He is exceptional. His tight, constricted, impeded speech in this role was gripping. I felt his pain through the entire movie.

I found Rush's character to be so appealing, he almost became attractive to me. Almost. He carried himself with so much physical control - a direct contrast to Firth's lack of control in his speech.

It was also a delight to see Helena Bonham Carter as her beautiful, cleaned-up self. Her last several roles have required her to downplay (I suspect she enjoys this) her looks (e.g. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, Harry Potter...) Her portrayal of the to-be Queen Mum was tender, believable and accurate in posture, etc.

This film is about politics. It is about life in the Royal Family. It is about the life-long psychological damage a father can impart on a son. It is about the advent of World War II. It is about the power of language and speech and image in leadership, not to mention its loneliness. But this educator chooses to see this as a film about teaching and the teacher-student relationship. Like Lionel's methodology, good teachers teach more than the subject, treat more than the symptoms. Within the process of guiding a student to success, we must be good listeners and "watchers" to see what really drives the student. We must command our own respect (even from the King of England) and demand discipline. We must, to a certain degree, become friends with the student, even dropping our own guard now and then to reveal our own humanity.

Ironically, the real gentlemen resemble their opposites in the film. But the right actors played the right parts. A darn good movie. Take from it what you will.

King George VI

Mr Logue