Film Art Event

The Establishing Shot for The King’s Speech was a microphone. The movie began with a dramatic close up of a microphone. This set the stage for the movie in a huge way. The King’s Speech is about a Duke, forced into Kingship, who has a terrible stuttering problem. He stresses about giving speeches in front of the country, using the microphone shown in the Establishing Shot. The Establishing Shot of this movie gave huge insight about what was to come.

There were a lot of really cool camera angles in The King’s Speech. There were upward angles, downward angles, and also sideways angles. One of my favorite camera angles was when Bertie and Elizabeth were squeezed into a tiny elevator. The camera angle portrayed how small the space was. They were forced into each other and the camera angle really accentuated that. Another camera angle I liked was the close up of Bertie and his microphone as he gave the last speech of the film. It was a powerful angle because it portrayed just how difficult it was for him to get his words out.

After the death of his father King George V and the scandalous resignation of Prince Edward VII’s, Bertie who has suffered from a devastating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue.  After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill, the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.  Based on the true story of King George VI, The King’s Speech follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice. A lot of scenes drew me in. Whenever Bertie was at Lionel’s office, I was drawn in. They had an incredibly awkward start but they grew to like each other. Also, the dramatic scene where Bertie breaks down under the pressure really got into my heart. He poured his heart out to his wife and it was a moving scene.

                                       The Cast of The King's Speech accepting their Oscar

Colin Firth did an excellent job in this film. He even won best actor at the Oscar’s! He was very convincing and was fantastic playing the role of Bertie. I don’t know how he was able to portray his speech impediment so well. He really delved into his role and took hold of it. He was very convincing. Also, Helena Carter was very convincing as her role of Bertie’s wife. I usually see her in very dark roles, but this was a pleasant change. She did a great job at playing a queen. I felt like I really connected with her. She took control of her role and made it her own.

The soundtrack to the film was awesome! It also won an award at the Oscar’s. The score was very time relevant. It sounded like something you would have heard in the time of King George VI. It was powerful in times where it needed to be powerful and soft in times where it needed to be soft. The music really makes a film. I was moved by many scenes in the film just because of the wonderful music. At the end when Bertie is presenting the speech, the music made me feel like I was in the small room with him and Lionel. It really moved me.

There were two genres to the film. The King’s Speech was a drama as well as a biography. It told the story of King George VI in a very dramatic way. A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. The emotional theme in this movie was his speech impediment. He had a terrible stammer and the movie develops as he develops a friendship with his speech coach.

There were many messages I derived from The King’s Speech. One that I thought was very important was the message behind Bertie and Lionel’s relationship. Bertie was very rude to Lionel at first because he was taking out his frustrations. He didn’t want to associate with him because he was from Australia. As the film went on, Bertie realized how much Lionel was helping him and they became great friends. The message there was to “not judge a book by its cover.” Also, Bertie’s speech really held him back until he got help from Lionel. This movie was a great story but it also gave the message of perseverance. Bertie could’ve given up at any time. His father died, his brother stepped down from the throne, but Bertie kept persevering. He knew he needed to be the voice of his country as they went into war, and he eventually made a non-replaceable impact.

Me outside Nickelodeon