The King's Speech
I went to see this film last night.
Firstly - it is a heart warming story, one many of us obviously already know well. It is a tribute to the film's makers therefore that it is a captivating watch even though you know several of the important plot points... i.e. you know his Dad dies, you know his brother abdicates, you know that war is inevitable and you know that he did indeed conquer his stammer.
Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter... well you can't go wrong with a cast like that can you? And in the "bit part players" Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall (doing a really very passable Churchill) etc. and just the cast alone is of actors who I have great respect for.
Apparently the director and cast did have access to Lionel Logue's diaries and patient notes which were unearthed in the family archive by his grandson who has written a book on the story as well. So some of my scepticism about the accuracy was allayed. Of course George VI went on to be an icon of the British war effort and his perseverance against his impediment is a mark of great courage.
So a really good film. It has also made me think on some other things that I'll post about in a moment...
If you want to hear the real speech that is the climax of the film here it is.
Firstly - it is a heart warming story, one many of us obviously already know well. It is a tribute to the film's makers therefore that it is a captivating watch even though you know several of the important plot points... i.e. you know his Dad dies, you know his brother abdicates, you know that war is inevitable and you know that he did indeed conquer his stammer.
Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter... well you can't go wrong with a cast like that can you? And in the "bit part players" Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall (doing a really very passable Churchill) etc. and just the cast alone is of actors who I have great respect for.
Apparently the director and cast did have access to Lionel Logue's diaries and patient notes which were unearthed in the family archive by his grandson who has written a book on the story as well. So some of my scepticism about the accuracy was allayed. Of course George VI went on to be an icon of the British war effort and his perseverance against his impediment is a mark of great courage.
So a really good film. It has also made me think on some other things that I'll post about in a moment...
If you want to hear the real speech that is the climax of the film here it is.
Sounds good. But we're such stick-in-the-muds we rarely go to the cinema! Have to wait for it to be on television.
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