The King's Speech (2010)

The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

Director:

Tom Hooper

Writer:

David Seidler (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

Top 250 #166 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 86 wins & 103 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Firth	...	King George VI
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Queen Elizabeth
Derek Jacobi	...	Archbishop Cosmo Lang
Robert Portal	...	Equerry
Richard Dixon	...	Private Secretary
Paul Trussell	...	Chauffeur
Adrian Scarborough	...	BBC Radio Announcer
Andrew Havill	...	Robert Wood
Charles Armstrong	...	BBC Technician
Roger Hammond	...	Dr. Blandine Bentham
Geoffrey Rush	...	Lionel Logue
Calum Gittins	...	Laurie Logue
Jennifer Ehle	...	Myrtle Logue
Dominic Applewhite	...	Valentine Logue
Ben Wimsett	...	Anthony Logue

Storyline

Tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. 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 through war.

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Plot Keywords:

King | Speech | King George Vi | Speech Therapist | Britain | 

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Taglines:

It takes leadership to confront a nation's fear. It takes friendship to conquer your own.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

UK USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El discurso del rey

Filming Locations:

Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,523,102 (UK) (7 January 2011)

Gross:

$138,795,342 (USA) (10 June 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, UK Film Council, Momentum Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though having had a large body of television work, director Tom Hooper won the Best Director Academy Award (Oscar) for this movie on his first ever nomination, the film being just Hooper's third ever film. The earlier two features Hooper had directed were Red Dust and The Damned United.

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Goofs

It's very unlikely that Logue's boys would make plastic models in the mid- to late 1930s. Scale modeling then was done in balsa wood. Plastic models (made of a different plastic than used now) were available for a short time before WW II, but they were removed from the market for wartime production of other items.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: 1925 / King George V reigns over a quarter of the world's people. He asks his second son, the Duke of York, to give the final closing speech at the Empire Exhibition in Wembley, London.

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 26 January 2011 (2011)
Clip shown during 'Oscar' segment.

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 7 in A Major: Allegretto"
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Heard as George VI delivers his first wartime speech

User Reviews

A Royal Treat

You heard it from me: Not even James Franco with his boffo performance in 127 Hours can beat Colin Firth for the Oscar in King's Speech, a docudrama about the Duke of York (Firth) becoming King George VI while overcoming a crushing stutter. Not only does the actor get pitch perfect the stutter, but he also invests a kindness, courage, and vulnerability in the character that work in harmony to create an unforgettable George in an exquisite period peace.

Not to forget how generously Geoffrey Rush underplays Lionel, the speech therapist who is instrumental in making the king a speaker and a friend. That low-key acting allows Firth the room to expand his king's personality without interference from an Oscar-winning co-star. This is history as I like to learn it—honest and engaging with palaces and minor characters well-appointed and underplayed themselves as part of a mosaic of challenges facing a handicapped king and a nation on the brink of WWII. The pace is close to languid, better to allow us to settle in for the painful transformation of a man unused to public speaking but used to family mocking his disability.

George's bravery is the film's heartbeat, not flamboyant courage, mind you, but rather the kind that wakes us up to the character as complex and lovable. But valor is not his exclusively, Guy Pearce's Edward, who abdicates for his love, Wallace Simpson, can be seen as a courageous man giving up a crown for love or a fool falling for a twice-divorced socialite.

Such an ambivalence is fitting for a film that gently introduces you to a period in British history when alliances are not clear and allegiances dangerous. One thing is patently clear, however—this is going to be on most critics' best film of the year list with a sure Oscar winner for its star. If Firth missed the brass ring last year in A Single Man, he'll grab it this year in King's Speech.