The King’s Speech

Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce
Directed by Tom Hooper
Rating: ***

Tom Hooper tells it in the old-fashioned style. So we begin with King George V’s second son, Duke of York (Firth), stammering his way through his first public speech at the closing of the Empire Exhibition in Wembley, setting off misgivings in everyone around. Things get neatly rounded off in the climax with him realising that he does ‘have a voice’ and that as king he also has a great way of guiding his people ‘in a grave hour’ (1939). It’s about a king learning to lead from the front—during an impending world war and also in a personal battle within.

Helping him in his fight are his wife (Bonham Carter) and an unorthodox Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Rush), for whom overcoming a stammer is not just a mechanical exercise but involves fighting one’s deep-seated fears and traumas. It’s a tale of a rare friendship and trust between the Duke and Lionel. It’s also about protocol-bound royal life, and the distance between royals and commoners.

Firth’s Oscar-winning performance has him emoting with his eyes. They reflect his pain, fear, embarrassment and rage. Rush, though less celebrated, is superbly effortless and Bonham Carter immensely likeable. It’s a film that could have veered towards the maudlin but remains quietly engaging and affecting till the end.