When I saw this film, I was blown away by two things. First of all, the acting was first class. Secondly, why are the characters constantly being shown on the side of the shot rather than the middle? I don't attempt to answer this, but it intrigued me and made the film more interesting to watch.
The three actors that caught my attention were the leading three- Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. I thought Colin Firth got across every detail of his character with impeccable accuracy and skill. I would imagine being a public speaker in any role- be it a lecturer, an after dinner speaker, or one as compulsory as the monarch of a country- would be a scary job without a speech impediment. But to be in the position that King George VI was in, to be born into a job that he couldn't really leave without possibly bringing the monarchy down, and to be in the public eye as much as he was, would have been a hard job for anyone, let alone someone that struggles with his speech. In my opinion, some of the emotions tied in with this whole situation would be frustration, fear and loneliness. And I think Firth captured all of these emotions whilst still managing to be entertaining and funny.
The next actor that I admired in this film was Geoffrey Rush. I thought that the character itself was written very well- he was completely uninhibited by the fact that he was coaching a king, he did not give the monarch any special treatment and he did not bow down to him- nor did he call him "your majesty" or "sir". I think that Rush displayed this character very well, arguing back with the king and calling him Bertie. He also showed the other side of the character very well, the family man that was messing round and having fun with his children. I think that this made the audience relate to him much better. A similar moment to this was when the king was reading to his daughters, and having fun with them... and also when he broke down and cried to his wife. I think all of these moments were used to engage the audience and remind us that everyone, even the king, is human and has bad moments.
Speaking of Firth's character crying to his wife, I thought the relationship portrayed between King George VI and who would go on to be the Queen Mother, was impeccably played by the actors giving the parts. I could see the love in the couple, and the resignation that she was going to live her life in the public eye, and her dealing with the two male leads when they'd had an argument was both hilarious and realistic. Bonham Carter played the part very believably, which I admired her more for because it is such a different role from all the other films I have seen her in.
To conclude, I think the success of this film is down to the writing, the acting, and the directing. The writing showed the small details of this man's life to people that would not have known it otherwise, the acting portrayed the writers work with accuracy and believability, and the director kept the audience interested with the varying shots and the visual aspects of the characters.
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