The Kings Speech

UK, 2010, 118 mins, Cert 12A, Director: Tom Hooper

Written by David Seidler and directed by Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech is a richly enjoyable, instantly absorbing, true-life drama about the relationship between introverted stammerer King George VI and his exuberant Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue.

After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. Winning four Oscars for best film, best director, best leading actor (Firth) and best original screen play, The King’s Speech proves there’s fizzing life in old-school British period dramas; it’s acted and directed with such sweep, verve, and lightness. George VI’s talking cure is gripping.