The King's Speech (2010)

Tom Hooper's modest monarchist drama surprised many by becoming a worldwide hit last year, scooping most of the major Oscars and upsetting a lot of the supposed big name films. On the surface this may have seemed unlikely, but watching the film it is clear to see why it has such mass appeal, it manages to tell a familiar story in a new way and thanks to the great performances, transcend the stuffy reverence that can often coat such dramas.
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The film tells the story of George VI, before and after he becomes King during the 1930's, a task for which he feels inadequate thanks to a speech impediment that has affected him since he was a small child. Using the introduction of Radio and the mass media the film neatly plays into the populations increased desire for contact from their leaders, and the importance of appearance in such roles. Having unsuccessfully rid himself of his condition George comes across a rather unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and the film charts the relationship these two, very different, characters form. Loosely based on true events what the film does well is strip away a lot of the political and social aspects of the story to focus on the characters. Colin Firth won an Oscar for his performance as George VI and it is easy to see why, he plays slightly repressed and downtrodden very well and he effectively explores George's condition not just as a series of tics and mannerisms, but as a condition that has defined his entire character from a very early age. He is defensive and untrustworthy, the psychological element of the story is not lost and that was something that surprised me. Every bit his equal though is Geoffrey Rush, who arguable has the harder role, acting as the counterpoint to Firths solemn and restrained performance. His Lionel is full of his own quirks, strict but fun and warm and though he takes a backseat to Firth for much of the film he provides it with the real heart.
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The performances really drive the film forward and the moments with Firth and Rush apart are noticeably worse off for it. Despite the general lightness of tone there is still a certain dryness that creeps in to the film's slower moments that failed to keep my attention. The close focus that works so well at times also feels a little restrictive, the film feeling play-like in its dialogue and interior heavy focus and a bit more scope and urgency might have helped drive the plot along. It is a shame that the film didn't engage me as much as I had hoped, as technically it is clearly impressively constructed. Director Tom Hooper uses a variety of techniques to highlight George's condition, his use of odd angles and close-ups foster an atmosphere of claustrophobia, ably enhanced by Firth's performance. For the score Alexandre Desplat provides another in a series of strong recent compositions here, enhancing the light tone and yet remaining reverential, mixing in classical pieces from Beethovan and Mozart effectively.
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Overall it is easy to see why The King's Speech garnered the attention it did, it is unashamedly crowd pleasing and I appreciated its restrained conclusion, eschewing Hollywood style bombast. However the film remains somewhat thin, aside from the great performances it fails to really grasp and engage as it might. It is far from the best film of last year, but if you temper expectations, there is still a lot to enjoy here.