the king's speech jennifer ehle

King's Speech, The (United Kingdom, 2010)

The King's Speech delivers solid drama with a rousing climax - a fully satisfying and uplifting period piece that achieves its dramatic potential without sacrificing historical accuracy. Unless you count Hitler, who is seen from afar, the narrative is villain-free, allowing the focus to be on the internal and interpersonal struggles of the characters - a more rewarding approach than when a bad guy is invented to fill the need for a conventional conflict. Even though it is set against the backdrop of mid-20th century British royalty, there are no barriers to mainstream accessibility. The wealth of acting mined by director Tom Hooper may represent the best ensemble not only of this year but of the last several years. Big and small, there are some astounding performances here.

The film opens in 1925. The man who will become King George VI (Colin Firth) is now merely Prince Albert. His official title is the Duke of York and, because he's the second son of King George V (Michael Gambon), he is not expected to ascend to the throne because that role will fall to his older brother, Prince Edward (Guy Pearce). A life away from the relentless attention of Buckingham Palace is suitable for Albert and his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), who do not desire to be king and queen. And there's another issue: royalty in the age of radio presents a unique challenge for Albert, who is afflicted with a stammer that hampers his ability to speak publically (and, at times, privately). In an attempt to be free of this impediment, he visits Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist known for unorthodox methods. Logue's importance in Albert's life escalates when circumstances conspire to make him the king of England at a time when the storm clouds of World War II are gathering on the horizon.

Although The King's Speech is primarily a drama and can be seen as a buddy movie and an instance of the underdog triumphant, there are plenty of humorous moments. None of the comedy is overdone or out-of-place. One can easily imagine, for example, the amusing awkwardness that would affect a middle-class wife upon discovering the Duchess of York sitting at her modest dining room table. The King's Speech is as positive and life-affirming as any recent movie. Like a sports figure who overcomes incredible odds to score the winning points, King George VI is presented as a man who, through sheer force of will and because of the trust he places in Lionel, is able to surmount the obstacle that blocks his path. Too frequently, we leave movies largely unmoved by the experience; The King's Speech sends viewers home with smiles on their faces and lilts in their hearts.

Rarely have we observed so many fantastic performances in one movie. First and foremost is Colin Firth who may win the Oscar (and, if he doesn't, he should). Perhaps the best way to describe the way Firth inhabits the character is to recall Helen Mirren's astounding turn in The Queen . It's the same sort of thing - a man who sheds his skin and crawls inside that of another so fully that we believe in the character. Geoffrey Rush, with his hangdog face, is the perfect foil for Firth. Rush gives Lionel a false bravado to cover his inner uncertainty about serving such a distinguished client. Beneath the seemingly confident exterior, we see the softer, gentler man. Firth and Rush share strong chemistry, which is critical in any buddy film, irrespective of how offbeat it may be. There's also no shortage of chemistry between Firth and Helena Bonham Carter, whose Elizabeth is a delight. She's sharp-witted and whip-smart but capable of great caring and humanity.

The secondary cast is populated by notable names giving sterling performances. There's Timothy Spall, whose interpretation of Winston Churchill is more than an exercise in mimicry. Derek Jacobi, who played a famous stammerer as the title character in I, Claudius , is the cranky and propriety-conscious Archbishop Lang. The royal family is filled out by Michael Gambon as George V, Claire Bloom as his wife, Queen Mary, and Guy Pearce as Edward, whose infatuation with a twice-divorced American woman creates problems for his reign. Finally, Jennifer Ehle's participation as Lionel's wife allows her an opportunity to be reunited with her Pride and Prejudice co-star, Firth. This is the first time they have shared the screen since that monumental mini-series.

The final scene, which gives the movie its title, represents not only the climax of the story but the moment in which all the elements come together - Firth and Rush's acting; the classical strains of the score; the stark simplicity of the production design (the room in which the speech is given is functional and unadorned). Hooper orchestrates everything with flawless diction in his cinematic language. The microphone looms not merely as an aid to voice amplification and recording, but as an implacable enemy - the faceless foe George VI must defeat by exorcising his own personal demons. It's an amazing moment.

The MPAA, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to saddle The King's Speech with an R rating, believing there are too many "fucks." Jack Nicholson got away with 2.5 gratuitous "fucks" in How Do You Know, but that inferior picture survived with a PG-13. Admittedly, there are more than 2.5 "fucks" in The King's Speech (as are there in this now R-rated review), but they are anything but gratuitous. They serve a purpose within the context of speech therapy. The MPAA has once again shown its narrow-mindedness. Those "fucks" are the only reason this is R-rated. There's no sex or violence, just one word spoken a few too many times.

The King's Speech is everything a good movie should be. When the two hour running time expires, many will wish there were more minutes to come. With its deceptively complex drama, skillful direction and polished screenplay, and top-notch acting, The King's Speech illustrates by example how disappointingly lacking so many recent would-be dramas have been. This is a deeply human story that touches the heart and inspires the audience not only in relation to the characters and their circumstances but as a reminder that, in the dreary muddle of 2010's mediocrity, a motion picture like this can still make it to theaters.

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The King’s Speech

A stirring, handsomely mounted tale of unlikely friendship starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Americans love kings, so long as they needn’t answer to them, and no king of England had a more American success story than that admirable underdog George VI, Duke of York, who overcame a dreadful stammer to rally his people against Hitler. A stirring, handsomely mounted tale of unlikely friendship starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush , “The King’s Speech ” explores the bond between the painfully shy thirtysomething prince and the just-this-side-of-common, yet anything-but-ordinary speech therapist who gave the man back his confidence. Weinstein-backed November release should tap into the same audience that made “The Queen” a prestige hit.

Though hardly intended as a public service message, “The King’s Speech” goes a long way to repair decades of vaudeville-style misrepresentation on the subject of stuttering, which traditionally serves either for comic effect (think Porky Pig) or as lazy shorthand for a certain softness of mind, character or spine. Screenwriter David Seidler approaches the condition from another angle entirely, spotlighting a moment in history when the rise of radio and newsreels allowed the public to listen to their leaders, shifting the burden of government from intellect to eloquence.

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These pressures are too much for Prince Albert (Firth), whose crippling speech impediment causes public embarrassment at 1925’s British Empire Exhibition. Director Tom Hooper (HBO’s “John Adams,” “The Damned United”) alternates between nervous Albert and the fussy yet professional BBC announcer in this opening scene to contrast one man dragged into public speaking with another who’d elected the bloody job for himself.

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Albert’s father, King George V (authoritatively played by Michael Gambon), is no more fond of the wireless, but eventually embraces the device for a series of annual Christmas addresses. Though tough on his tongue-tied son, he views Albert as a more responsible successor than his reckless brother Edward (Guy Pearce), who indeed will famously renounce the throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson ( Eve Best ). But George V fears the stammer is unbefitting the throne. “In the past, all a king had to do was wear a uniform and not fall off his horse,” he laments.With responsibility for the crown looming, Albert’s wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter, in her most effectively restrained performance since “The Wings of the Dove”) seeks out the services of Lionel Logue (Rush), a frustrated Australian actor turned speech therapist. As portrayed by Rush, Logue is what some politely call a “force of nature” — all bluster, no tact, yet incredibly effective in his unconventional approach, rejecting the institutional thinking of the time in favor of vocal exercises and amateur psychotherapy.

While Seidler cleverly uses the prince’s handicap as a point of entry, “The King’s Speech” centers on the rocky connection that forms between Bertie (as the speech therapist calls the prince) and Lionel, whose extraordinary friendship arises directly from the latter’s insistence on a first-name, equal-to-equal dynamic quite unlike anything the Duke of York had previously encountered. Though few would deem it scandalous today, the film rather boldly dares to humanize a figure traditionally held at arm’s length from the public and treated with divine respect, deriving much of its humor from the brusque treatment the stuffy monarch-to-be receives from the irreverent Lionel (including a litany of expletives sure to earn the otherwise all-ages-friendly film an R rating).

While far from easy, both roles provide a delightful opportunity for Firth and Rush to poke a bit of fun at their profession. Firth (who is a decade older than Albert-cum-George was at the time of his coronation, and a good deal more handsome) has used the “stammering Englishman” stereotype frequently enough before, in such films as “Pride and Prejudice” and “A Month in the Country.” Here, the affliction extends well beyond bashful affectation, looking and sounding more like a man drowning in plain air as his face swells and his throat clucks, yet no words come out. Rush’s character, meanwhile, is that most delicious of caricatures, a recklessly bad actor whose shortcomings are embellished by someone who clearly knows better.

On the surface, Rush appears to have the showier of the two parts. But the big scenes are indisputably Firth’s, with two major speeches bookending the film (the latter one being the 1939 radio broadcast with which King George VI addressed a nation entering into war with Germany) and a surprisingly candid confession at roughly the midway point (in which Albert reveals the abusive treatment that likely created his stammer in the first place).

Hooper, who nimbly sidestepped the pitfalls of the generic sports movie in “The Damned United,” proves equally spry in the minefield of blue-blood biopics by using much the same m.o. — focusing on the uncommonly strong bond between two men (the director reunites with Timothy Spall here as a rather comical-looking Winston Churchill). Another repeat collaborator, production designer Eve Stewart, re-creates both royal digs and Logue’s wonderfully disheveled atelier, while Alexandre Desplat’s score gives the film an appropriate gravitas.

• Production: A Weinstein Co. (in U.S.) release presented with U.K. Film Council of a See-Saw Films/Bedlam production in association with Momentum Pictures, Aegis Film Fund, Molinare, FilmNation Entertainment. Produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin. Executive producers, Geoffrey Rush, Tim Smith, Paul Brett, Mark Foligno, Harvey Weinstein, Bon Weinstein. Co-producers, Peter Heslop, Simon Egan. Co-executive producers, Deepak Sikka, Lisbeth Savill, Phil Hope. Directed by Tom Hooper. Screenplay, David Seidler.
• Crew: Camera (color), Danny Cohen; editor, Tariq Anwar; music, Alexandre Desplat; music supervisor, Maggie Rodford; production designer, Eve Stewart; art director, Leon McCarthy; set decorator, Judy Farr; costume designer, Jenny Beavan; sound, John Midgley; re-recording mixer, Paul Hamblin; supervising sound editor, Lee Walpole; special effects supervisor, Mark Holt; visual effects supervisor, Tom Horton; line producer, Peter Heslop; associate producer, Charles Dorfman; assistant director, Martin Harrison; second unit camera, Matt Kenzie; casting, Nina Gold. Reviewed at Aidikoff screening room, Beverly Hills, Sept. 1, 2010. (In Telluride Film Festival; Toronto Film Festival -- Gala Presentations; London Film Festival -- Gala.) Running time: 118 MIN.
• With: King George VI - Colin Firth Lionel Logue - Geoffrey Rush Queen Elizabeth - Helena Bonham Carter King Edward VIII - Guy Pearce Winston Churchill - Timothy Spall Archbishop Cosmo Lang - Derek Jacobi Myrtle Logue - Jennifer Ehle Stanley Baldwin - Anthony Andrews Queen Mary - Claire Bloom Wallis Simpson - Eve Best King George V - Michael Gambon

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Review: 'the king's speech' delivers royally.

• "The King's Speech" is a crowning achievement powered by a dream cast
• Writer David Seidler had first conceived the story as a play
• Colin Firth gives a towering performance that deserves a shower of awards

( Rolling Stone ) -- It could have been a bunch of pip-pip, stiff-upper-lip Brit blather about a stuttering king who learns to stop worrying and love the microphone. Instead, "The King's Speech" -- a crowning achievement powered by a dream cast -- digs vibrant human drama out of the dry dust of history.

King George VI ( Colin Firth ) -- father of the present Queen Elizabeth -- found his own Dr. Strangelove in Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a wildly eccentric Australian speech therapist who made it possible for the stammering monarch to go on radio in 1939 and rally his subjects to support the declaration of war on Hitler's Germany.

Rolling Stone: Peter Travers reviews "The King's Speech" in his weekly video series, "At the Movies With Peter Travers"

"The King's Speech" plays out on the battlefield of words, not action. Writer David Seidler (doing keenly insightful work partly owing to his own bouts with a stammer) had conceived the story first as a play. Before you can think the words "static" and "confining," be advised that director Tom Hooper, garlanded with Emmy dust for "John Adams," "Elizabeth I," "Longford" and "Prime Suspect," breathes fresh, urgent life into every frame of this powerhouse. Hooper, 37, is a prodigious talent. The emotion this film produces is staggering.

Hooper begins in 1925, as the king, then merely Prince Albert, is trying to speak at the British Empire Exhibition. The words stick in his throat, and his silences between syllables fill the stadium. The prince's embarrassment is acute, and deeply felt by his compassionate wife, Elizabeth (a superb Helena Bonham Carter creates miracles with every subtle look and gesture), who goads him to visit Logue.

His Highness goes into heavy snob mode in the presence of this commoner, who demands that they use first names. When Lionel first calls Albert "Bertie," Firth's poleaxed reaction is priceless. Lionel treats speech lessons like therapy sessions, pushing for details about life in the royal family.

What he gets is a portrait of a blowhard father, George V (Michael Gambon), and a taunting brother, Edward VIII (Guy Pearce is absolutely stellar), who reduces the proud, vulnerable Albert to rubble by committing the one unforgivable sin: Edward abdicates the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), leaving Bertie to succeed him. Suddenly, the man who would not be king most assuredly is.

Rolling Stone: Peter Travers' holiday movie preview: Ten movies for escapism this season

Firth's nuanced brilliance is a thing of bruised beauty. Oscar-nominated last year for " A Single Man ," he gives a towering performance that deserves a shower of awards. And Rush is his match, fiercely funny in the hilarious and heartfelt interactions between king and commoner. Lionel is a failed actor given to grand gestures, and Rush chows down on this feast of a role, jolting the movie to life.

Firth plays the counterpoint, the blue blood bred to hold it all together. It's uproarious to watch Lionel prod Bertie to lose his cool, forcing him to sing out a symphony of s**t-f***-b***er-me swearing (all stammer-free). Luckily, this release takes place in Lionel's home, where his wife and children are unaware of the royal patient.

The scene in which Lionel's wife, Myrtle (Jennifer Ehle), meets the king has a special poignancy, if you remember Ehle and Firth as lovers in TV's " Pride and Prejudice ."

"The King's Speech" doesn't have the budget to show coronations and pomp, but it misses nothing in resonant intimacy. Hooper, with a Brit father and Aussie mother, throws himself into the scene in which Lionel stands like a conductor in front of the king as he delivers the speech of his life. Two men alone create an epic landscape of feeling in one of the very best movies of the year.

Rolling Stone grade: 3 1/2 stars

Copyright © 2011 Rolling Stone .

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The King’s Speech

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

It could have been a bunch of pip-pip, stiff-upper-lip Brit blather about a stuttering king who learns to stop worrying and love the microphone. Instead, The King’s Speech — a crowning achievement powered by a dream cast — digs vibrant human drama out of the dry dust of history. King George VI ( Colin Firth ) — father of the present Queen Elizabeth — found his own Dr. Strangelove in Lionel Logue ( Geoffrey Rush ), a wildly eccentric Australian speech therapist who made it possible for the stammering monarch to go on radio in 1939 and rally his subjects to support the declaration of war on Hitler’s Germany.

The King’s Speech plays out on the battlefield of words, not action. Writer David Seidler (doing keenly insightful work partly owing to his own bouts with a stammer) had conceived the story first as a play. Before you can think the words “static” and “confining,” be advised that director Tom Hooper, garlanded with Emmy dust for John Adams , Elizabeth I , Longford and Prime Suspect , breathes fresh, urgent life into every frame of this powerhouse. Hooper, 37, is a prodigious talent. The emotion this film produces is staggering.

Hooper begins in 1925, as the king, then merely Prince Albert, is trying to speak at the British Empire Exhibition. The words stick in his throat, and his silences between syllables fill the stadium. The prince’s embarrassment is acute, and deeply felt by his compassionate wife, Elizabeth (a superb Helena Bonham Carter creates miracles with every subtle look and gesture), who goads him to visit Logue. His Highness goes into heavy snob mode in the presence of this commoner, who demands that they use first names. When Lionel first calls Albert “Bertie,” Firth’s poleaxed reaction is priceless. Lionel treats speech lessons like therapy sessions, pushing for details about life in the royal family. What he gets is a portrait of a blowhard father, George V (Michael Gambon), and a taunting brother, Edward VIII (Guy Pearce is absolutely stellar), who reduces the proud, vulnerable Albert to rubble by committing the one unforgivable sin: Edward abdicates the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), leaving Bertie to succeed him. Suddenly, the man who would not be king most assuredly is.

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Firth’s nuanced brilliance is a thing of bruised beauty. Oscar-nominated last year for A Single Man , he gives a towering performance that deserves a shower of awards. And Rush is his match, fiercely funny in the hilarious and heartfelt interactions between king and commoner. Lionel is a failed actor given to grand gestures, and Rush chows down on this feast of a role, jolting the movie to life. Firth plays the counterpoint, the blue blood bred to hold it all together. It’s uproarious to watch Lionel prod Bertie to lose his cool, forcing him to sing out a symphony of shit-fuck-bugger-me swearring (all stammer-free). Luckily, this release takes place in Lionel’s home, where his wife and children are unaware of the royal patient. The scene in which Lionel’s wife, Myrtle (Jennifer Ehle), meets the king has a special poignancy, if you remember Ehle and Firth as lovers in TV’s Pride and Prejudice .

The King’s Speech doesn’t have the budget to show coronations and pomp, but it misses nothing in resonant intimacy. Hooper, with a Brit father and Aussie mother, throws himself into the scene in which Lionel stands like a conductor in front of the king as he delivers the speech of his life. Two men alone create an epic landscape of feeling in one of the very best movies of the year.

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The New York Times

Carpetbagger | a full-court press for ‘king’s speech’.

A Full-Court Press for ‘King’s Speech’

They roped you into this too, the Bagger asked Derek Cianfrance, the director of “Blue Valentine,” at a party in a basement screening room on Monday night. Mr. Cianfrance nodded ruefully. Ever since Harvey Weinstein successfully petitioned the Motion Picture Association of America to change the rating for his labor-of-love relationship film from NC-17 to R, Mr. Cianfrance probably feels he owes him one. And the party was for “The King’s Speech,” which, like “Blue Valentine,” is distributed by the Weinstein Company. So there he was, glass in hand, gamely chatting with every comer.

And so, on an otherwise slow holiday week, the force that is Mr. Weinstein had gathered guild members, hopefully a few Academy members, and a few boldfaced names -– Kathleen Turner, Bill Irwin -– for a schmooze and a movie. Cast members numbered just two: Jennifer Ehle, who plays Myrtle Logue, wife of the speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) who tends to Colin Firth’s stuttering King George; and Eve Best, who plays Wallis Simpson. Ms. Ehle said she got the call about attending the party a week and a half ago; Ms. Best , who is from London, happened to be stranded in New York because of the airport closings in Europe. Between them, the women have mere minutes of screen time; they didn’t interact on set and were eagerly catching up at the party. Naturally, the Bagger interrupted. Why had “The King’s Speech” so connected with audiences? we asked Ms. Best.

“Because it’s beautiful and inspiring and hopeful as a sort of fairy tale,” she said. “It has a wonderful positive happy ending. It’s the story of two men with a great friendship that results in a man overcoming real, real, true problems.”

She added, “It reminds me of those wonderful times, the heyday of the Merchant Ivory movies, the quality of that beauty, the epic scale and around this intimate story.”

Right. How long did she actually work on the film?

“Less than a week,” she said. “I happened to be in England for something, and it was a brilliant sense of timing.”

But like her co-stars, Ms. Best did her research; she worked with an accent coach and watched videos of Simpson and her paramour, the Duke of Windsor, which she found helpful. “Otherwise it’s a bit weird, you just turn up on a film set for a couple of days and have to plunge straight into it,” she said.

That’s kind of what awards season was like for Ms. Ehle, who lives in upstate New York and has a 21-month-old daughter, and had just managed to see her own film last week. But she didn’t mind helping out with the promotion, she said, even if it was last-minute.

“The film deserves it,” she said. “It must be such a pleasure if you’re somebody who has a film that you feel getting it out there won’t embarrass you in any way and you can be proud of it. These people –” she gestured to the various publicists and Weinstein assistants lingering over the mixed nuts at the bar -– “must have to do that all the time for things that aren’t quite deserving of it.”

Neither actress stayed for the screening, nor did Mr. Weinstein. But he assured us that the campaigning by any and all cast members was just beginning.

“Michael Gambon, Guy Pearce, they’re all coming in January,” he said, on the way to his car.

What's Next

The King's Speech Movie

When God couldn't save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could.

King George VI tries to overcome a nervous stammer with the help of Lionel Logue.

Who's Involved:

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Hooper, Guy Pearce, Simon Egan, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Emile Sherman, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Gareth Unwin, Helena Bonham-Carter

Release Date:

Friday, November 26, 2010 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

"The King's Speech" tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George 'Bertie' VI (Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

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4.23 / 5 stars ( 103 users)

Poll: Will you see The King's Speech?

Who stars in The King's Speech: Cast List

Colin Firth

1917, Gambit  

Geoffrey Rush

Munich, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole  

Helena Bonham-Carter

Big Fish  

Jennifer Ehle

Fifty Shades of Grey, Spooks: The Greater Good  

Lookout, The Brutalist  

Derek Jacobi

Gladiator II, Verona’s Romeo & Juliet  

Michael Gambon

The Omen, Open Range  

Who's making The King's Speech: Crew List

A look at the The King's Speech behind-the-scenes crew and production team. The film's director Tom Hooper last directed Cats and The Danish Girl . The film's writer David Seidler last wrote The Judge and The Lady Who Went Too Far .

Screenwriter

David Seidler

Production Company

Bedlam Productions

Prescience Film Finance

Watch The King's Speech Trailers & Videos

Home Entertainment Traile...

Production: what we know about the king's speech, filming timeline.

• 2010 - July : The film was set to Completed  status.
• 2010 - March : The film was set to Post-Production  status.
• 2009 - September : The film was set to Pre-Production  status.

The King's Speech Release Date: When was the film released?

The King's Speech was a Limited release in 2010 on Friday, November 26, 2010 in around 4 theaters. There were 2 other movies released on the same date, including Undertow and About Elly . As a Limited release, The King's Speech will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

The King's Speech DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?

The King's Speech was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, April 19 , 2011 .

Q&A Asked about The King's Speech

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The King's Speech

Director: Tom Hooper

Writer: David Seidler

Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon

The King's Speech  brings us into the beating heart of the British Royal Family. Oscar® Nominated Colin Firth plays Albert, the Duke of York, or “Bertie.” A deeply private man, Bertie is afflicted with a debilitating stutter that leaves him unable to speak publicly.

Following a public scandal, Bertie must take his brother David’s (Pearce) place on the throne. Stutter or not, Bertie will be King. To help ready her husband, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) finds an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). The two men form an unlikely friendship that will not only cure Bertie’s stutter, but also help him find the voice of a king and the strength to lead his country to war with the Nazis.  

The King's Speech

After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle. Based on the true story of King George VI, The King's Speech follows the Royal Monarch's quest to find his voice. more

After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and ... More

Starring: Colin Firth Helena Bonham Carter Geoffrey Rush

Director: Tom Hooper

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After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle. Based on the true story of King George VI, The King's Speech follows the Royal Monarch's quest to find his voice.

Starring: Colin Firth Helena Bonham Carter Geoffrey Rush Derek Jacobi Jennifer Ehle

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Wednesday, August 04, 2010

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Biographical Dramas

The king's speech (hbo).

: Colin Firth stars as King George VI, who desperately tries to overcome his stutter.

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When his brother abdicates, George VI reluctantly dons the crown. Though his stutter soon raises concerns about his leadership skills, King George VI turns to an unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue, and the two forge a friendship.

Cast and Crew

Starring: Colin Firth , Helena Bonham Carter , Geoffrey Rush , Derek Jacobi , Jennifer Ehle , Guy Pearce , Timothy Spall , Michael Gambon , David Bamber , Calum Gittins , Orlando Wells , Tim Downie , Ben Wimsett , Freya Wilson , Jake Hathaway , Dominic Applewhite , Simon Chandler , Andrew Havill , Richard Dixon , Adrian Scarborough , Roger Parrott , Anthony Andrews , Patrick Ryecart , Emily Best (Eve) , Claire Bloom , Roger Hammond , Paul Trussell , Ramona Marquez

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The King's Speech

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• Charles Armstrong
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• #53 Best Movies Based on a True Story
• #55 Best Biopics/Biographical Movies
• #71 Best British Movies
• "It’s a prizewinning combination, terribly English and totally Hollywood, and Firth is, once more, uncanny"  David Edelstein : New York Magazine
• "A riveting, intimate account at how a British king triumphed over a speech impediment"  Kirk Honeycutt : The Hollywood Reporter
• "A crowning achievement powered by a dream cast -- digs vibrant human drama out of the dry dust of history (...) One of the very best movies of the year (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"  Peter Travers : Rolling Stone
• "Each character has his moments (...) [but the film is] too ingratiating to resonate deeply"  Manohla Dargis : The New York Times
• "At the end, what we have here is a superior historical drama and a powerful personal one (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"  Roger Ebert : rogerebert.com
• "The two leads keep the movie afloat with their light-footed class warfare. This Anglican buddy romance is buoyed by a spicy history lesson about the scandalous marriage of the duke's elder brother"  J.R. Jones : Chicago Reader
• "Firth and Rush work marvelously together, generating an amusing 'Odd Couple' chemistry that’s unabashedly theatrical"  Eric Kohn : IndieWire
• Show 3 more reviews
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