The Kings Speech

I saw the Kings Speech over the weekend. It was a very solid movie. The performances were phenomenal all the way around. I think Colin Firth often gets overlooked, and he was great in this movie. So far, its the best lead acting performance I've seen from an actor this year (yet to see James Franco in 127 Hours or Jeff Bridges in True Grit). Jesse Eisenberg's robotic turn as Zuckerberg pales in comparison to Firth's performance.

However, the true scene stealer of this movie was Helena Bonham Carter. She was absolutely pitch-perfect as Queen Liz. It was her ability to capture balance that was so dead-on. She was proud, but not too proud. She understood her part as Royalty, yet also understood and sympathized with the common man. She was polite, but sill somewhat standoffish. And most importantly, she wore the pants in her marriage with King George, but was able to play the part of the wife so well that George and others had no idea. Finally, she was stern and firm with her husband, but was also consoling, loving, understanding, and supportive of him. It was an amazing balance, I thought. Every scene where she and Firth interacted was touching.

There were also some other great supporting performances, including Geoffrey Rush (who is getting some Oscar consideration as Supporting Actor) as King George's friend, confidant, and speech therapist; Guy Pearce as George's older brother David; and the guy who plays wormtail in the Harry Potter movies as Winston Churchill.

This was a feel-good period piece that, in the end, was an acting vehicle. But all the performances were so good that it was enjoyable throughout. There was the brilliant British style from the 1930s that was very prominent - it was a very British movie. And the movie was a good length for its pacing - at 1 hour, 50 min. The ending of the movie was spectacular and moving. All in all, this was a very solid movie that should play well with almost any audience.