8/10
Once upon a time, there was a man called Albert. He was unemployed, and had a wife and two daughters. His brother and father were also unemployed, but none of them have to worry about money, because Bertie's dad is the King, his brother is the Prince Of Wales, and he is the next in line to the throne. He also has a very bad stammer.
His loving wife Elizabeth has tried many doctors, and Bertie has had enough, but after a disastrous speech in 1925, he agrees to go along to see an Australian called Lionel Logue, who operates from a basement in Harley Street, though he is somewhat disconcerted by the colonial's techniques, and his insistence on treating His Majesty as an equal. However, since his approach (as much therapy as speech therapy) seems to work, he decides to stick at it. And things are made even more serious when George V dies, and David (now Edward VII) decides that life with Wallis (but not Gromit) is more fun than being king.
I loved this film. plain and simple. It's historical, which floats my boat; it's funny, it's touching, it's beautifully acted, and I can't wait to see it again (and now I have, it's even better second time around). The story (a true one) was originally conceived of as a play, but the script found its way into the hands of film makers, and what might have been a two hander in a single room is expanded into something far more ambitious. Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother to be), Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret all appear and do credit to themselves, but the stars of the film are Colin Firth as Bertie/George and Geoffrey Rush as Logue. These two are simply wonderful, and I will be surprised if they don't both get Oscar nominations.
I know costume drama featuring the upper classes isn't everybody's cup of tea, but by the time that the stammering King is speaking to the nation as they go to war with Germany, anyone who is left unmoved needs a defibrillator.
