The King's Speech

The King's Speech

The film "The King's Speech" is a historical-drama that shadows the life of a man with a speech-stammer. The protagonist, Colin Firth, is not an average man by any means though. Colin Firth plays the emotion-packed part of King George VI of Great Britain at the beginning of World War II. Throughout his life, King George VI was in the shadows of his father and brother who teases him for his speech-stammer. His future in leading a nation looks grim, until King George meets an unorthodox speech-therapist named Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) who adds much depth to the overall plot.

When I first heard the title, "The King's Speech", I foreshadowed to believe the story had great significance involving an important speech for a king. The book, The Art of Watching Films, addresses that, "in many cases, the title has one meaning to a viewer before seeing the film and a completely different, richer, and deeper meaning afterward." After watching this film I realized how fitting the title really is. Not only does the "The King's Speech" summarize the plot of the movie, but it gives insight at  what the climax of the movie entails. In this film,  King George VI's speech is not just an ordinary speech, but a living testament of history during the pivotal beginnings of Great Britain's involvement in World War II.

The cast of actors in "The King's Speech" pull a diverse blend of emotion into the plot of this film. During the King and Lionel's speech sessions I could really feel the emotion of the actors. Furthermore, the thing that I found unique about the protagonist was that he didn't have to have a massive role of dialogue in the film in order to get across what the director, Tom Hooper, wanted the viewer to feel. I believe by doing this the director allowed the viewer to personally dig deeper into the psyche of King George. Lionel did an awesome job as a supporting actor through his use of compassion, openness, and trustworthiness in the dialogue. The text, The Art of Watching Films states that viewers shouldn't only view and listen to a film-- and to not listen careful to just what is said, but how it is said. Lionel does an excellent job at this when the King decides to quit going to the sessions because of his abstract treatments. Instead of insisting that the King continues or escorting him out he makes the friendly offer of his voice recording. The characterization through dialogue builds a strong friendship between the short-tempered king and the charismatic speech-therapist, who lives a live away from the royal palace.

Throughout the plot of this film themes of the time period are addressed. A dramatic change in screenplay occurs after the King's brother, Guy Pierce (King Edward VIII) who carried the throne before him, decides to get a divorce. Now in the film the director does go into slight detail about the Catholic Church not accepted divorce, but never fully emerges in the topic. I believe the director used themes such as this to illustrate the differences in the time period compared to when the film came out in 2010. I also enjoy how the director used the themes of divorce and war, but didn't fully submerge in the topics or glorify them. I believe using themes like this help the viewer think below the surface and give the viewer a feel for the setting of the film in the late thirties and early forties.

Boggs, Joseph, & Petrie, Dennis. (2012). The Art of watching films. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill College.