By Jess Bonniwell
Layout Editor
WOW. JUST WOW. What an experience. What an amazing time.
The King’s Speech is a true story about King George VI (who has a serious speech impediment) and his speech coach Lionel Logue. The timeline is right at the beginning of the 2nd world war, the speech that the movie hinges on is a national address that the king gives to the English people announcing that England has declared war on Hitler’s Germany. The film won the 2010 Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award and was nominated for fourteen BAFTAs, of which it won seven; twelve Academy Awards; and seven Golden Globes, with Colin Firth winning for Best Actor. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush lead the movie in the acting department, while Tom Hooper does the directing.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Good: If I told you all the good parts of this movie, two things would happen. I would drone on forever, and you would know the entire movie. Why? Because try as I might, I cant seem to find any part of the movie that thought needed improving. The acting was beautiful, the casting impeccable, and the story unparalleled. Probably my favorite aspect the entire movie was the Irony of the climax. At the end of the story, the king delivers the speech and does it without the stuttering that he had struggled through the entire story. The audience is relieved and feels such a sense of accomplishment. It is a true triumph. The ironic bit comes in when it dawns on you that the speech that you are so ecstatic about… is the speech that announced the worst war in the history of mankind… and would soon after see London torn to pieces by the blitzkrieg. What an amazing way to end a movie.
The Bad: Like I said, I’ve really got nothing bad to say… which feels a bit weird.
The Bottom Line: This was one of the most enjoyable stories I have heard in a very long time. I sincerely have a hard time trying to decide if this was better than True Grit… I may not come to a conclusion. The sad truth though is that True Grit probably wont make it to the Oscars. Anyway, PLEASE watch this movie. You will most certainly not regret it.
The reel rating:
