My first cinema visit of 2011, to a sold-out six-o’clock screening at a packed Plymouth Vue to see this hotly anticipated Oscar-bait. The story revolves around the man who would never be king – Albert Windsor – and his attempts to deal with his life-long stammer through speech therapy sessions with the maverick Lionel Logue. So far, so predictable, but this film succeeds on the back of two factors. First, the story, which on the surface is a simple tale of human struggle against adversity, is given depth by having the biggest royal scandal of the 20th Century as its backdrop, not to mention the outbreak of war (slightly historically inaccurate, but not enough to matter). The second factor is the strong ensemble playing, led by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Firth is clearly an Academy Award favourite this year, and I think on the basis of this performance, coupled with his excellent performance in the beautiful A Single Man last year, he probably deserves to win.
Overall, Hooper’s gentle story telling style means that the warmth and courage of the central characters is allowed to emerge in The King’s Speech, but I’ve got a feeling the film will be remembered more as the vehicle which finally brought Colin Firth his Oscar.
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