Saturday 5 March 2011

Movie: The King's Speech (2010)

Rating: A

I was thinking about how to start this entry off in this little blog of mine, and the cliche, "A Crowning Achievement" came to mind. But upon further consideration, I decided that there's probably a dozen or so reviewers out there that would have used this eye-roll worthy pun. A war of nations paled by the war within a single man. Brilliant.



I've got to say, I've never really been a big fan of Colin Firth. But this was a stellar performance. The Oscars don't always get it right, but they were bang on for giving Firth the Best Actor Award this year. And it's great to see new stars rising behind the camera in Tom Hooper as well. Brilliantly crafted, the internal conflict of King George VI with the imminent threat of Nazi Germany breathing down Britain's neck keeps you holding your breath with every careful word uttered by the struggling King. People rise and cheer for sports and war movies, but at the end of this movie, it is an impassioned speech by a dedicated king that gives the audience a reason for elation and exultation.

I did however, find Guy Pearce to be a bit of a miscast in this one. With such brilliant performances from Helena Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast, nothing about Pearce's delivery stood out. Even Michael Gambon, who was in the movie for all of maybe 5 minutes, was able to connect with the audience. And yet, you look forward to moving on to the next scene every time Pearce opens his mouth.

Best movie of 2010 tho? I think I'll still give it to Black Swan.

~Cheers.

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