MOVIE CLUB : The King's Speech

Just finished my beer at the bar and ambled back to the computer to write my first review of 2011...also my first review in way over a year.  I apologize for my blog reading audience...I am a horrible blogger, forgive me.

Anyway, enough self-flagellation, ONTO THE REVIEW!!!

Is this thing on?

 The Kings Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, starring Colin Firth, Geoffery Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter.

What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said in the media?  I don't think I can tout it more than what the mainstream press already has, and it's obvious that Colin Firth will most definitely get nominated...and probably win...the Oscar for Best Actor.  If he doesn't, it will be a travesty, because his performance in this movie, about the problems facing King George VI of England at the eve of World War II, is absolutely fantastic.  His tortured acting reminds me of Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator, and Firth brings forth the humanity of the king who didn't want to be king during one of the worst crisis in his country's history.

Rush plays his speech therapist and ultimately his friend, and Bonham Carter plays his wife, the future Queen Mum.  All of the acting in this movie is top-notch, and I won't be surprised to see Rush & Bonham Carter receive nominations as well.

This movie had it all...as I mentioned before, the acting was superb from all three of the principle actors.  But the writing and the cinematography are fantastic as well.  At our after-movie drink, my friend and I commented on how beautifully this movie was shot.  You could capture a single frame from the movie and it would be a beautiful picture, but you don't really notice it because the acting is so good.  Rush plays a knowledgeable and caring therapist, and Bonham Carter, who I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of, plays the Queen as a loving wife who stands behind her husband knowing that he'll be a good king.

The one thing that surprised me about this movie is how much it delves into the scandal around George VI's rise to the throne, with his older brother abdicating the throne and the tortures he faced as a child growing up in a household that was displayed for all the world to see.  That was heart-breaking, and Firth showed what it means to be a royal and not be able to live your life as your own. 

I could go on and on about how great this movie is, but you'll have to go see it for yourself.  It definitely deserves the praise that it has received, and I look forward to more from director Tom Hooper, who might just be at the tipping point of his career.