Essentially a ‘poor little rich boy’ kind of a story, here we have a king struggling to overcome his speech defect. His predicament is accentuated because he has to give an oration that will motivate his subjects at the beginning of World War II. Albert (Colin Firth) is a second son and thus not in direct line to the throne. He is also somewhat shy and afflicted with a stammer that frustrates and infuriates him. After his hectoring father George V dies, his elder brother Edward becomes king. Edward is in love with American socialite Wallis Simpson and wants to marry her. However she is a two time divorcee and the King being Head of the Church cannot marry her. As a consequence, Edward takes the momentous decision of abdicating the throne in order to marry her. And his younger brother Albert finds himself a reluctant monarch.
Albert has tried many treatments to get rid of his stammer – including the humiliating experience of trying to speak with marbles in his mouth – but they don’t seem to work. Eventually, with his supportive wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) by his side he reaches the doorstep of an Australian speech defect therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Logue’s somewhat unconventional and progressive methods (no smoking, getting to the root cause of the stammer) first annoy ‘Bertie’ (as Logue insists on calling Albert) and then convince him. With the title of King George VI burdening him, Albert relies even more heavily on Logue to help him address his nation convincingly upon the September 1939 declaration of war with Germany. After his radio speech, as Logue watches, the King steps onto the balcony of the palace with his family, where thousands of people assembled for the speech applaud him.
Colin Firth gives a sterling performance as the beleaguered king who struggles to articulate his thoughts. His painful struggles to pronounce even simple words manage to strike a chord and elevate what could have been a trivial issue. An Oscar well deserved. Geoffrey Rush is assured as always in his portrayal of the unorthodox Logue. Helena Bonham Carter is also good and the relation between the King and his wife is tender and touching. In contrast to this, Edward the elder brother and Wallis Simpson are quite clearly painted as villains of the piece.
An inspirational movie that shows that nobody is too big to suffer and no problem too small to be of consequence. An easy watch though maybe a little too prolonged in places because one already knows how its going to end. On a happy note of course. The struggle is always more meaningful when one emerges victorious.
8/10
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