The King's Speech
Feb. 19th, 2011 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andurilWell, first of all, George VI is my favourite British monarch. Yea, I say that. There's something romantic about a reluctant king, who ascended the throne because his brother abdicated. And he came with a weakness of his own. He's a guy you wanted to root for. So, when I first heard about this film, I'm definitely excited.
Here comes the problem. I watched this a week after I watched The Wind the Shakes the Barley. And it pales in comparison.
Colin Firth is good at the stammer and the emotions. But I can't find his inner struggle. His motivation to keep his brother on throne nor his worry on the impending war. The King itself feels superficial, like it was more important to keep his speech rather than rally behind his people. Who knows, that could be what George VI really is, but I'm just disappointed. It feels like he's trying to get his stammer and his accent right, rather than be the King and shows us his struggle. Yea, I don't think he's that good in this role.
Thankfully, Ms Helena, as the Queen Mother, fares much better. She's more natural. However, the script forgot about her as the film moves on. That's bad. And I don't know much about Lionel the speech therapist. But Geofrey Rush is great in this one. He's both snarky and patient. And the film is at its best when he and Bertie are in the same room. One surprise however, is Wallis Simpson. She was in the film for a total of five minutes, but she made do with her limited screentime. She's just so charming and fun, and I can see why Edward/David falls for her.
The script moves between witty funny to downright cringeworthy. The direction.... the less said, the better. It's all over the place. And I can't help but compared the film with The Wind..., due to almost similar time period (George V). The Wind... is about ordinary people trying to change their country, while The King's Speech is about caricatures. Yea, huge disappointment there. I can now see the importance of a good director, the man behind the camera. It makes all the difference between simply a good one and simply an amazing one.
If the film win Best Film? I'll put it down to politics anyway.
On other news, SWITCH magazines! Pretty pretty Ryoma photos. Thought my friend comments: Why is it so dark? And why is he so serious? Dude, Masha has loosen up since Ryoma. Before that, he only has one type of expression in every photoshoot. :D Kiddin', love you ol' man.
Here comes the problem. I watched this a week after I watched The Wind the Shakes the Barley. And it pales in comparison.
Colin Firth is good at the stammer and the emotions. But I can't find his inner struggle. His motivation to keep his brother on throne nor his worry on the impending war. The King itself feels superficial, like it was more important to keep his speech rather than rally behind his people. Who knows, that could be what George VI really is, but I'm just disappointed. It feels like he's trying to get his stammer and his accent right, rather than be the King and shows us his struggle. Yea, I don't think he's that good in this role.
Thankfully, Ms Helena, as the Queen Mother, fares much better. She's more natural. However, the script forgot about her as the film moves on. That's bad. And I don't know much about Lionel the speech therapist. But Geofrey Rush is great in this one. He's both snarky and patient. And the film is at its best when he and Bertie are in the same room. One surprise however, is Wallis Simpson. She was in the film for a total of five minutes, but she made do with her limited screentime. She's just so charming and fun, and I can see why Edward/David falls for her.
The script moves between witty funny to downright cringeworthy. The direction.... the less said, the better. It's all over the place. And I can't help but compared the film with The Wind..., due to almost similar time period (George V). The Wind... is about ordinary people trying to change their country, while The King's Speech is about caricatures. Yea, huge disappointment there. I can now see the importance of a good director, the man behind the camera. It makes all the difference between simply a good one and simply an amazing one.
If the film win Best Film? I'll put it down to politics anyway.
On other news, SWITCH magazines! Pretty pretty Ryoma photos. Thought my friend comments: Why is it so dark? And why is he so serious? Dude, Masha has loosen up since Ryoma. Before that, he only has one type of expression in every photoshoot. :D Kiddin', love you ol' man.