IN THE COURT OF THE VOICELESS KING: a review of "The King's Speech"

"THE KING'S SPEECH"
Written by David Seidler
Directed by Tom Hooper
**** (four stars)

While majoring in the field of Communication Arts in college, one required course was a class in Public Speaking. I wanted nothing more than to avoid that class altogether but it was not to be. The class itself was taught in a smallish classroom with no more than twelve students to one Teaching Assistant, who instructed then tire course. The Teaching Assistant was a diminutive, youngish woman with a chirpy yet serious disposition and perpetual dark circles underneath her eyes, most likely due to her own course work combined with her teaching duties. On the very first day of the class, she informed all of us that at some point during all of our lives, we will all be required to stand in front of a room full of people and deliver a speech. Internally, I said to myself, “Lady, you are completely wrong!” as I was not the sort of person who ever desired to speak within a classroom setting, let alone stand behind a podium and present. As far as I was concerned, the days of standing in front of a classroom to deliver oral reports were over and after this one course, so would any days of public speaking.

On the first set of public speeches we were required to deliver in class, I distinctly remember one girl. I cannot place her face now and I do not even remember her name but I will not forget this particularly intense moment. After sitting through the first few speeches, it was time for this girl to have her turn. From the moment she walked to the podium, we could see that she was visibly nervous. By the time she faced us, we could see that she was terrified. I remember looking quickly around the room to see everyone sitting patiently and attempting to offer her visual cues of support. I performed the same feat, hoping that this girl could see that we all understood, that she was amongst friends and nothing horrific was bound to happen to her. Unfortunately, it was all for nothing. The girl tried to squeak out a few words, shaking and stammering throughout and growing visibly unhinged at the idea of having to stand in front of us for one moment longer. She eventually stood silently, tried again and then, fear having overtaken her, the girl raced from the podium and out of the classroom. We never saw her ever again.

Now, this girl is a person I have not thought of since that class in the spring of 1989. Yet, this memory flooded back into the front of my mind during the crucially painful opening sequence of Director Tom Hooper’s wonderful new film, “The King’s Speech,” as Albert, the Duke Of York (an astounding Colin Firth), and son of King George V (Michael Gambon), makes a disastrous speech at Wembley Stadium due to a debilitating stutter. The severe embarrassment, frustration and shame are all apparent in Colin Firth’s eyes and the empathy, conveyed without any overly sentimental cinematic trappings, could be felt throughout the theater as our collective hearts could not help but to reach out this man in need.

Whether through cinematic accident, coincidence or grand design, it amazes me when films of completely different subject matter and tonal quality can all ultimately revolve around shared themes and concepts. Very recently, I have written about films that have been structured around the beauty of language and communication, from The Coen Brothers’ “True Grit,” Will Gluck’s “Easy A,” and David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” And if there exists a common theme on Savage Cinema, the concept that I keep returning to time and again, it is the theme of humanity. In my mind, “The King’s Speech,” a movingly humane film that utilizes issues of language and communication brilliantly, is easily one of 2010’s standout films.

After the Wembley Stadium debacle and enduring one failed attempt at curing his stammer with one speech therapist after another, Albert has resigned himself to his fate of veritable speechlessness. Yet, his wife Elizabeth (a wonderful Helena Bonham Carter) has not given up as she has resigned herself to exhausting every conceivable opportunity in aiding her husband. Acting upon a recommendation, she finds the location of speech therapist (and failed actor) Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), whose unorthodox manner and perceived inability of being intimidated by royalty intrigues her enough to encourage Albert’s subsequent visitation.

As their lessons are at first tentative but cordial, the relationship between Albert and Lionel soon grows contentious and becomes a dual battle of wills: Albert’s resistance to Lionel’s teachings and Albert’s resistance against himself. Understandable as the pain of trying again when only failure has ever been the result outweighs any potential successes. The sessions, which do include copious amounts of vocal, breathing and other physical exercises, broaden into the psychological as Lionel is able to probe into Albert’s past, allowing both men to reveal some of the possible roots of Albert’s stammer. As new understandings arise, a greater sense of mutual respect and friendship forms between the two men.

Through eventual family complexities and the dawn of World War II come into striking focus, Albert, now christened King George VI, is faced with mustering the courage to unite and lead a nation. But first, he must discover the courage within himself to accept the help he desperately needs to find and utilize his voice.

Splendidly executed, Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” is like a perfectly composed and performed piece of classical music but it is not a piece of exclusivity. It is designed for the masses. There is a unique quality surrounding “The King’s Speech” that allows the film to avoid every possible cliché and potential obstacle. It is an old-fashioned film yet never grows turgid or stodgy, as it possesses an internal momentum and sharp energy the keep everything flowing ever so smoothly and provocatively. The consistently witty screenplay by David Seidler gives Firth and Rush ample opportunity to include many doses of humor and a few brief moments that lean towards a Monty Python-esque quality, amidst the pathos.

Perceptively, “The King’s Speech” also finds the opportunity to make sly critiques at the media’s presence and how significant a role it plays within our political structure. As King George V is the first British monarch to elicit a radio address, he grumbles to his son Albert that the majesty of his royalty has officially been reduced to a lower form: those who are actors. How apt an observation, especially as we ponder the current status of our political structure. We all understand just how crucially this one skill of public speaking can make or destroy an image as well as a perception of one’s self-worth. Think a moment about our current President as well as those from our recent history and ask yourself how their abilities (and NOT the content of their messages) on television, in debates and speeches contributed to your perceptions of who they were and even their level of intelligence. This specific layer adds additional weight to the story of “The King’s Speech,” making the parallels between that era and our current one so palpable.

Further and most importantly, “The King’s Speech” is an intimate, eloquent and deeply felt drama. Despite my status as a lifelong anglophile, I have to admit that I tend to hold an aversion to the genre of historical dramas and the “Masterpiece Theater”/”Master Thespian” style of acting as I find those regal stories of the ruling class rather stuffy. But, what the film accomplishes immediately in the film’s opening minutes is to strip away the pomp and circumstance and make the story instantaneously accessible. Not by dumbing it down in the least but by making the story so recognizably human and therefore completely relatable. As previously stated, it’s all in Firth’s eyes as we see the character of Albert, the Duke of York, struggling to verbally form the words swimming in his head and that epic disappointment he feels within himself for being unable to do so. Who could not possibly relate to that level of perceived and realized failure and public humiliation?

The lessons in proper elocution and diction Lionel Logue teaches to Albert leads to greater lessons as the film’s emotional journey takes the forefront. The film is extremely perceptive in how personal fears and inner negativity can plant insurmountable seeds that grow into even more insurmountable psychological walls. In its non-preachy fashion, “The King’s Speech” illustrates so simply how we are all the products of who we were as small children and how those events shape us into the adults we become, for better or for worse. In the case of Albert, his private demons have led him to be stubbornly stoic, making the difficulty of asking for and accepting help so seemingly impossible.

Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush make a combination of absolute perfection and both men are working at the top of their games. These are two amazing performances that play off of each other, compliment each other while feeling effortless, convincing and entirely natural. They are obvious and much deserved picks for Awards season nominations and if both men shockingly do not receive attention, then something has gone horrifically wrong in Hollywood. Firth and Rush are an acting dream team to savor, using the language of cinema to communicate so completely, our collective foibles and failures and how through patience, empathy, tolerance and acceptance, we have the ability to succeed and soar.

Returning to that speech class from long ago, I survived it. In fact, I did surprisingly well by the course’s end and I did feel a sense of accomplishment. But morseo, returning to the prophetic words of that youngish Teaching Assistant back in the spring of 1989, I have to concede that every single word she uttered concerning the reality of all of us speaking publicly has proven to be more than valid. In my profession as a preschool teacher, I am required to deliver an orientation to new families every September and I have done so for the last thirteen years. Additionally, I have spoken at my parents’ retirement gala event and last year, I spoke at the funeral of a cherished Uncle. Despite all of the experience, the task has never grown easier for me as I am still that silent child sitting in the back of the classroom fearing to open his mouth lest I risk public ridicule. As I feel so much more comfort with the written word, I still would prefer to write my thoughts down and send it along, without having to engage anyone so openly. And like it or not, I am forced to confront my own fears and just speak.

While I speak, my mind indeed races towards the negative, especially during those school settings as parents regard me. I fear words will fail and they all find me a fraud who has no idea of what he is talking about, questioning exactly why they pay so much in tuition for this clown before them who desires to be an influence within their children’s lives. And always afterwards, I am surprised and relieved with the positive results.

It is that particular experience I found to be so profoundly moving in “The King’s Speech,” as the communicative power of the spoken word is actually achieved through a symbiotic act. Like King George VI, or anyone else who has ever addressed a group of people, be it 12 or one billion, we all desire to receive the information the speaker wishes to deliver. As I speak within a classroom setting, or in honor of my parents or in remembrance of my Uncle, despite my hefty and constant fears of failure, I somehow know that there is no one wishing me harm. Each word spoken is assisted by each waiting gaze and our collective success is based in our collective desires for nothing less than the positive. Like that terrified girl in that speech class, we only wished her well and I would like to think that everyone is wishing me the same. But, that girl, like Albert, the Duke of York, seemed to be in a state where she was either unwilling or unable to accept the assistance we were all desperately trying to deliver to her. And I wished that she could have only received the message we were sending to her.

“The King’s Speech” is a tale of two men who perform this exact feat, as their symbiotic nature allows both men to rise to their grandest heights. Through patience, sympathy, understanding, and some tough provocation, they become the best of themselves only through the aid of each other. No one accomplishes this feat through the solitude and emptiness of a vacuum. It is through our collective humanity that all messages sent are graciously and enthusiastically received. The messages of “The King’s Speech” arrived loudly, clearly, through enormous entertainment value, exquisite artistic skill, knowing psychology and deep sentiment.

“The King’s Speech” is one of the most beautifully realized and empathetic films of 2010.