The King's Speech (2010)

"The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it." (imdb.com)

Viewed in theaters

With all the awards season buzz this year, it's refreshing to see the most talked-about film actually live up to the hype. You all know my opinions on other critic favorites (The Social Network, True Grit, Black Swan, etc.), and I'm about to pipe in yet again with my loudmouthed opinion about "The King's Speech."

Let me begin with a quick overview of the actual aesthetics of the film: The cinematography is beautiful. The acting is absolutely wonderful. Lighting, audio, historic accuracy, costuming...it's all spot-on and breathtakingly gorgeous. The quality of the film itself is definitely worth watching.

Secondly, allow me to remark on the film's story. Yes, it seems simple enough--in the early 1940's, the youngest son of the British royal family ("Albert," also known as "Bertie") must overcome a serious speech impediment and vocally lead Great Britain to a unified front in the face of impending world war; he does this by allowing an unorthodox freelance actor ("Lionel") to analyze and assist his stuttering problem. However, this "simple" storyline is packed full of much deeper and more universal themes: unconditional love, true friendship, trust, faith in someone's potential, courage even when things aren't going our way, leadership, inner strength, and respect. It's one of the more touching films I've seen this year; so even when (as my co-worker says) the movie is a 2-hour-long drama about a guy who just "can't talk right," we reach the end of the film feeling like we've just been in the presence of greatness and that it was worth the ride.

Thirdly, my opinion: "The King's Speech" gets pretty long somewhere in the 2/3 mark. For a little while, we feel as if the characters are just running around trying to find purpose and direction. (Maybe that's the intent?) But like I said, we slog through all the difficulties of "Bertie's" life and reach the end of the journey satisfied, having learned something about ourselves as a result of watching the British monarch.

NEGATIVES:
>>Profanity: Herein lies my BIGGEST problem with this film. By PluggedIn's count, there are a slew of nasty words hidden in this movie:  "Close to 20 each of f- and s-words. Christ's name is abused twice, and God's is misused at least once. The British crudity "bloody" is used more than a dozen times. Another British profanity, "b-gger," is used about 10. There's a handful each of the words "d‑‑n," "b‑‑tard," "a‑‑" and "h‑‑‑." Crude slang is used for sexual anatomy ("t-ts," "pr--k," "balls" and "willie")." Apparently, Weinstein (the production company) felt that the best way to tell this story was by peppering it with obscenities. The studio stands by their decisions to litter the place with foul language, but honestly it does take away from my enjoyment of the film. Yes, it is "tastefully" done (if such a thing is possible) in that it serves as either another dimension of the "nasty" characters that we're supposed to abhor, or as a part of Bertie's character arc (for example, he doesn't stutter when he sings or swears). I feel like it is extremely excessive, and I would caution filmgoers on this note alone to evaluate whether the film is worth the mudslinging of foul language.
>>Violence: Not much, besides some old WWII footage of Hitler's Zeppelins and a few screaming tirades from Bertie to Lionel.
>>Spiritual Content: I feel like all spiritual content and references in this film are culturally-based. I mean, look at the history books of the 1940's; most people prayed or went to church regularly. Great Britain used to say things like, "God save the king!" and such. These types of statements and references to God are constant throughout the film.
>>Alcohol and Drugs: This is the 1940's. It was customary to drink Scotch at the slightest provocation and pull out one's fancy cigars as an after-dinner social activity. These characters drink alot, but nobody really gets drunk. Bertie smokes when he gets nervous.
>>Sexual Content: Bertie's older brother, David, is forever carrying on with a married woman (and the woman in particular changes from season to season). When he finally finds one he wants, he has an affair with her, she divorces her husband, and they marry--which, of course, raises an uproar in the British aristocracy because it is against tradition for a king to marry a divorced woman. Also there are quite a few references to anatomy (as stated above) and a small-but-subtle comment is made suggesting that David and Bertie had some early-teenagehood sexual experiments with the same woman (at different times).

There's no doubt about it, this film was NOT made for children, families, or even teenagers. It's pretty clear that this film is geared towards adults--a mature adult audience at that. This point is made crystal-clear through the content, the foul language, the length, and the pace of the film. (Adults with ADD would not enjoy this movie.) It requires a pretty large time investment to get really involved in the film, but once you do, it's a picturesque stroll through a remarkable story. Even with its flaws, I honestly think this is one of the more enjoyable and worthwhile films of the 2011 awards season. (Here's hoping that it'll beat out "The Social Network"!!)

5 out of 6 stars

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