“The King’s Speech” won four of the 12 2011 Oscars it was nominated, including Best Picture, on Feb. 27 at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.
The nine other nominated films could have as easily won 2011’s Best Picture Award, but “The King’s Speech” stood out for its captivating screenplay and brilliant acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.
It’s the story of the rise to the throne of King George VI, played by Firth. It follows how he manages to get there by eliminating his speech impairment through the help of his therapist, Lionel Logue, played by Rush.
The film is set in 1930s and 1940s England, taking place right before World War II. Bertie, as George VI is often referred to in the film, struggles to improve his stammer as he goes through countless therapists. But Elizabeth – later Queen Elizabeth – played by Helena Bonham Carter, gets help from an unusual therapist in Logue, an Australian physician who is enthusiastic to work with Bertie.
Though uncomfortable at first, Bertie quickly becomes friends with Logue, as he helps him overcome a troubling past from his childhood and improve his speech.
Although the film is based on a true story, its words are based on an original screenplay by David Seidler, who won an Academy Award for his work.
Director Tom Hooper, in his third feature film to date, won his first Academy Award for “The King’s Speech.” Hooper used numerous filmmaking techniques that fit in seamlessly with the dialogue and mood of the film. He used wide and close-up shots in order to depict Firth’s portrayal of King George. Much of the scenes were also shot indoors.
Firth won the Best Actor Oscar for his work in portraying King George. The attention to detail that Firth put into portraying him – from having to constantly stammer to be uncomfortable around people – was quite a treat to watch and showed real effort.
Firth was well-deserving of the award. His performance and Seidler’s screenplay is what makes “The King’s Speech” so special. “The King’s Speech” does not disappoint, even among a year of fierce contenders. Surely, in a few years this film will be labeled one of the best of the decade.
