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Jacques Ellul says "The goal of modern propaganda is no longer to transform opinion but to arouse an active and mythical belief." So it is with the Oscars and why bored office workers worldwide continue to award the Academy Awards parties in their honour. We all know this Academy bullshit is nonsense, and yet my entire bookmark bar is abuzz with Oscar gossip and heresay. Evidently there's a bit of moral currency in this bit of modern effluvia, so let's take a look at potential best picture winner The King's Speech. Here we find some British actors acting quite Englishly. George VI (Colin Firth) is the stuttering spawn of centuries of imbreeding, otherwise known as the British monarchy. His unfortunate condition is simply a chore to his many rich, powerful and insufferable relatives, notably his wife (Helena B. Carter) and his brother (Guy Pierce). Guy's got a hard-on for an American ex-pat divorcee, and is too entralled with Nazism and jazz music to bother with the King thing. A movement for Broseph to abdicate the throne is advanced by a few of the court's greyer, more virginal courtiers. Meanwhile, Georgie Boy is soliciting speech lessons from a hammy actor playing a con artist playing a speech pathologist (Geoffrey Rush) Look, it's ably acted and I enjoyed the performances, but the unabashed empire-worship had me in dry heaves before tea time. We're supposed to sympathize with a human of unimaginable wealth and happenstance, dealing with a real and painful affliction. I wasn't sure whether it was supposed to be cathartic for me because he was a man of prestige being brought down to earth and subjected to Rush's overacting, but I was not entirely satisfied because I would have liked some medieval era torture equipment wheeled out. I just don't get it man--Prince William and Kate Beckinsdale on the cover of Whatsit Magazine. What the gently caress is wrong with our society, that we are suddenly in the business of rewarding being born rich and privledged--or married into it--as if it were an accomplishment? Prostrating ourselves towards powerful totems of influence. There's a reckoning coming, and it won't be reflected in the official record. "The King's Speech" is Oscar worthy, but secretly it sucks.
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Feb 28, 2011 01:20
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 04:09 |
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"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." If you feel like blaming all of societies problems on the British monarchy or sperg about oscar bait this is a fantasic film to make you reach for your meds. If you just fancy a good old fashioned well acted story about the battles of a rather unordinary man then check it out.
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Feb 28, 2011 21:43
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A rich white dude has white problems, which he solves with a handful of bullion from his ample purse. Oh, I guess he pulls himself up by his bootstraps and works really hard with the speech therapist. The movie is well-acted, but I'm not sure why I'm supposed to give a poo poo - nor why this movie won an Oscar for Best Picture. It's the sort of safe tripe that Hollywood puts out solely so that the elite have a reason to pat themselves on the back each year. 2.5/5 (I didn't want to turn the movie off, but I wouldn't want to watch it again.)
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Mar 2, 2011 03:04
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A forgettable movie about a royal British boob that has hissy fits and speaks a little funny. This is a safe plot that follows the same line of so many medium-quality movies in the past. When it was done, I felt as though I had just seen one of those British-made 1 hour drama series on PBS. Nothing remarkable to see here. It's such a shame that this underwhelming movie was granted the Oscar for best picture over Winter's Bone. 2/5
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Mar 4, 2011 01:43
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Hmm. I thought the acting was superb. Carter delivered a breathtaking performance, I couldn't take my eyes off of her when she was on screen. Her deadpan delivery and interactions with others always left me somehow happy. Firth does an admirable job of recreating the stutter and the spoiled nature of the young prince. And of course Rush excels in his overacting and wise paternal angle. The movie reminded me a bit of Good Will Hunting, with a young man coming of age situation overcoming his issues in a therapy setting to realize his potential. Watching it all come together for the King's Speech was a very poignant moment. If you can get over your distaste of rich privileged white people, which has never been a problem for me considering that's what most movies are about, this is an excellent period piece and personal story that will not bore you. 4/5 (I don't really know what a 5 is but I really liked this)
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Mar 23, 2011 19:54
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It's not exceptionally great or intellectually challenging, and I doubt people will be talking about it even a year from now, but it is a very good movie, with solid characters that are backed up by great acting, and a strong if predictable plot. I am sort of a nitpicker when I go see movies and I usually harp on the negative aspects of a film, but there really isn't anything bad I can say about this one. If you've been putting it off because it's "Oscar-bait" or looks like a stuffy movie, as I did, you're missing out on a very good film. 4.5/5
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Mar 29, 2011 02:50
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Finally saw this. Two important things: Number one, Colin Firth actually acts a bit in this movie. I swear every flick this guy is in he is the same pasted-over british dude with prissy manners and uptight attittude. Not so this time around, I guess the character he is portraying called for it, and it works. Number two Geoffrey Rush once again makes an unbelievably dry drama and unsympatethic story strut nicely with his performance. For a brief moment you actually feel sorry for the poor sod's incompetent brother and his worthless gold-digging wife. But it doesn't last. And to prove it, the writers extend the show towards the initiation of Britain's involvement WWII. Other than these two points, this is a completely unremarkable movie in every aspect (except scenery, score and setting). It doesn't help at all that it's fallen under the pishposh "awarded/nominated for" sticker bollocks which will make people intentionally avoid it more. 3/5
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Jun 2, 2011 02:58
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I am a stammerer. I thought this movie looked interesting when the trailers ran on TV some time ago, but I never really felt the urge to watch it until now. I bought the DVD and have watched it a few times so far. The King's Speech is a historical drama detailing the personal struggle of King George VI against a debilitating stammer. Colin Firth plays the King-to-be, and is supported by Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Geoffery Rush plays the part of Lionel Logue, former Australian national and renowned London speech therapist. The acting was wonderful. Firth has made a name for himself in the past playing stuffy English gentlemen, and certainly wasn't breaking any molds in this performance aside from a bit of a temper that I wouldn't expect to see in any of his other characters. Firth adopted a very believable stammer for this role and did a marvelous job of managing nonverbal delivery. Rush pretty much fit the bill for a witty, no-nonsense speech therapist and self-taught psychiatrist. Whether the role called for it or whether he penned it in himself, I'll never know, but what I do know is that it balanced well against Firth's much more "regal" character. In the cinematography department, the director did an excellent job of staging the scenes to accurately portray the high levels of anxiety, self-doubt, and outright fear that stammerers typically face when thrust into high-pressure situations and public speaking engagements. Everything from the framing of shots, to the copious amount of wide-angle close-ups, to the "evil red eye staring back at you" worked wonders to emulate the sense of constriction and self-resistance that stammerers struggle with on a daily basis. On the negative side, I felt that there wasn't much effort expended to develop other characters' personalities. As a result, most of the supporting cast was very one-dimensional. Carter played the always-supportive and level-headed wife, Guy Pearce played the in-your-face rear end in a top hat brother, and that's about it. The writing was obviously modified for the screen, but still historically accurate and accessible. Production was superb, and avoided becoming another soft-lit prissy British snoozefest. Acting was well-balanced and believable, although only two of the dozen-or-so characters were really given a chance to shine in this regard. Overall, I'd give it a 4/5. It's not the best thing I've seen all year, but it's a solid piece that I'll certainly keep front-and-center on the DVD shelf.
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Dec 29, 2012 01:50
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A beautiful human drama, the most touching friendship on screen that I've seen in a long time. 5/5 - a great classic that you have a certain cultural obligation to go see.
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Jul 31, 2013 05:58
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This film really tries hard to make us feel pity for a man with a speech problem, except the whole emotional core is completely undermined by the very fact that he and his royal family are born being elite of elites even without him being forced to be king. 2/5.
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Sep 29, 2013 13:53
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