Since I work nearly every Sunday, Dr. A and I don’t get to the movies as much as we used to. Also, movies for grownups are getting rarer and rarer all the time: the best dramas for people like us have gravitated to cable teevee. Mercifully, it’s the holiday season so there are actually several flicks worth checking out. So, we started withThe King’s Speech.
In a word, this film is great. Yeah, I know that I’m a notorious Anglophile but I’m also a small-r republican so I don’t automatically swoon for a story about the British royals. (Dr. A, however, *does* swoon over Colin Firth.) This tale of the stammering Duke of York who became the much loved George VI is a winner. The scenes between Firth and Geoffrey Rush who plays Lionel Logue the King’s self-trained speech therapist are pure bliss. Lionel insists that the two men have to be equals so he calls HRH, Bertie. The two bond and the King to be is able to tame his speech defect. The ending is worth the price of admission by itself.
There are several delicious bits of casting. Derek Jacobi, who played one of the most famous stammerers of all time inI, Claudius, plays the pompous Archbishop. Anthony Andrews who has played both the wayward Edward VIII and George VI in the past plays Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin who played a key role in the unmaking of the twitty Edward VIII and the making of the underrated George VI.
Anyway, if you’re in the mood for some quality entertainment or if you just have a crush on Colin Firth or Helena Bonham Carter, check this flick out. I give it an A or 4 stars if you’re keeping score.