The King's Speech. A Great Movie

I often imagined what a wonderful career a film critic must have. Watching several films a week and getting paid to write about them afterwards sounds like a very good deal to me. And lets be honest about it, it really doesnt seem like it would be a particularly difficult job; one simply expresses in approximately 500 words whether one likes a film or not and for what reasons. Now dont get me wrong, I wouldn't dream of trivialising anybody's career. As a matter of fact, I'm sure a film critic's career can be challenging in its own way, especially when we consider the amount of mind numbing dross that they must sit through on a daily basis. I can't imagine many film critics thanked their lucky stars for allowing them to watch ''Rumour Has It'' or ''The Devil Wears Prada''. That being said, I'm sure the few crackers they do manage to watch more than make up for the rubbish.

Of course it must also be noted that in order to be a film critic, one must possess a certain degree of journalistic flair. Now I'm definately no Mark Kermode and I'm sure that any film critic worth his (or her) salt would be able to throw together a much more stimulating piece of writing in 5 minutes than I have in 60. Nonetheless, I must tell you about the King's Speech. Written by David Seidler and directed by Tom Hooper, this film certainly deserves a mention albeit from someone as unqualified as myself.

When you have such high hopes for a film as I did with the King's Speech, your often setting yourself up for a fall and 9 times out of 10 come out of the cinema dissappointed. Invariably, this is not due to the fact that the film was bad but that it simply didnt live up to the high expectations that you had set for it in your head. This can be very irritating and for that reason, I try not to build films up to much and to not expect too much from any film. In the case of the King's Speech and the furore that surrounded it this was extremely difficult and I went in expecting to be blown away. And my god, did it deliver!!!

Such is the near perfection of the film that one almost forgets just how simple the plot is. In essence, the film is based on the life of George the VI (Colin Firth), an unwilling King who is plagued by an embarrassing stammer. On the eve of World War 11, the King must address his people and deliver a speech that will raise their spirits in the face of immense adversity. In an effort to overcome his speech impediment, he employs the services of an Australian speech therapist Lionel Loague (Geoffrey Rush) and an unlikely friendship develops between King and commonner. This friendship, often troubled, is portrayed wonderfully by both Rush and Firth

Colin Firth is simply magnificant as the bumbling, nervous King George VI, whose life is turned upside down when he userps the throne from his brother who is forced to abdicate for wishing to marry a devorcee. I often become angry when I hear critics say things like this actor really ''got into'' the role. However, in the case of Firth, such a cliche is justified. From the outset where we see him almost catatonic with fear as he addresses a crowd at the 1925 Empire Exhibition at Wembley to the very end of the film where he must address the entire country on live radio, Firth delivers a masterful performance, beautifully conveying the frustration and isolation that any person with a speech impediment must feel, not least of all a head of state. Throughout the film, Firth's timing is impeccable as is his meticulous attention to detail. His delivery of the speech itself in the last scene is breathtaking as he slowly and carefully surmounts each word and with every ounce of concentration delivers a flawless monologue. After watching the film, I compared Firth's speech to the actual speech delivered by George VI in 1939 and the similarity is truly remarkable. From the beginning of the speech right up to the dreaded ''prevail'' at the end, Firth's delivery is staggeringly accurate and a true master class in acting.

While Firth undoubtedly steals the show, one must also pay tribute to Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter who give strong support. If you were to only watch the first hour of the film, you would be forgiven for thinking that Rush's main role is to give comic relief to Firth's serious portrayal of a cruel and unfortunate
condition. However, to view Rush's performance in those terms would be doing the actor a grave disservice. As the film progresses, Rush wonderfully conveys a lovely human side to Loague and his duty of care. One scene that certainly stands out is the heart wrenching argument the King has with Loague when he tells him that he no longer wants his help and that the entire affair has been a waste of time. There is a point where the camera just slowly moves away from Rush and we see the pain in his eyes as he has been completely rejected. Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of the very young Queen Mother was solid but subtle as it needed to be in a supporting role. The care and love she has for her husband and the belief she has in him throughout is portrayed beautifully and there can be no doubt that she is perfect for the role. Timothy Spall also deserves mention for his praiseworthy portrayal of Winston Churchill.

In short, The King's Speech is marvellous. It is a wonderful story of love, friendship and conquering ones fears. It is undoubtedly pretentious as most movies of its kind are but I feel this one deserves to be.