Director: Tom Hooper
Writer: David Seidler (screenplay)
Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter
Since I am possibly the last person on the planet to see this movie, I probably am the last person on the planet who should be reviewing it. Nothing I can possibly add will make any difference – especially as I was bowled over by it as everybody else.
I’ve long been a fan of the three main characters and they have been widely and deservedly praised for their performances. Not only were they outstanding each in their own right, but none of them overshadowed the others at any point.
There was however, for me, another actor who stood out and whose performance I found equally as impressive and that was Timothy Spall who played Winston Churchill. If you came away wondering where you had seen Spall before and just couldn’t work it out, go and raid your kid’s Harry Potter DVDs – Spall played the traitorous Wormtail. He was also in Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland and Enchanted to name but a few. I’ve always thought he was a good character actor, but I was wrong… he’s a brilliant character actor.
The Man of the House (TMotH) was as impressed with the movie as I was – and that is big praise indeed since he’s not quite the movie fanatic I am. We both agreed that what took this movie to a higher level was the cinematography – at no point did the settings, scenery or even just the filming get in the way of the story the characters were telling. Yet at the same time, it wasn’t so stark as to be bland.
Directed and filmed with subtlety and delivered with discretion and respect, The King’s Speech is a classic already and should be a must have on any collector’s shelf.
