The King’s Speech Is Well Delivered But I’ve Heard Better

The King’s Speech

As the Academy Awards draw nearer it is becoming clear that the best picture race is really between two films: The Social Network and The King’s Speech. While both are good films, The King’s Speech has the rather unfair advantage of being the type of film that is simply made for Oscars. It features the quintessential checklist of things that often appeal to the award voters: Period piece? Check. Features a person struggling with a disability? Check. Takes place during a major war? Check. Highlights a friendship that defies the normal social conventions? Check. Yet unlike most films that would simply rely on these aspects, The King’s Speech actually strives to be something more. It not only wants to entertain but provide insight into a way of life that is rarely accessible to the average person.

Directed by Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech documents the real-life story of King George VI (Colin Firth) who, after the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the abdication of the throne by his brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), is given the task of being the new King just as the world is about to go to war. Hindered by his uncontrollable stutter, King George dreads the role that he now faces. Seeking a cure for her husband’s condition, Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) asks speech expert Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) for assistance. Lionel’s methods are considered experimental and unconventional, but through his work he develops a special bond with King George VI. As the start of the war approaches, Lionel and King George must figure out a way to control King George’s stutter before he has to give one of the most important speeches of his life.

As odd as this may sound, King George VI’s stuttering actually turns out to be the least interesting aspect of The King’s Speech. While it is the obvious focal point of the film, the element that makes it such a strong film is the depiction Royal life. In many ways being a part of the Royal Family is like being in prison. Firth’s character even remarks that it is more like a “firm” than a family. Before having no choice but to accept his fate, King Edward VIII did everything he could to rebel against the standards that come with being a Royal Family member. Hopper does a good job of showing the differences between duty and free will through his interpretations of both King George V and King Edward VIII. Besides contrasting their different styles, he emphasizes the divide by showing King George VI’s struggle to navigate the two extremes.

Colin Firth does a wonderful job of conveying George’s inner conflict. The King’s Speech continues his string of solid performances of late. Both Firth and Rush bring an unexpected levity to the film that is surprisingly refreshing. It is easy to expect that a film of this nature would merely be stuffy and formal due to the subject matter, yet the performances help to raise The King’s Speech slightly above other films that have dealt with issues of royalty. The supporting cast is outstanding in the film. It is nice to see Bonham Carter playing a normal person once again. We have gotten so use to her playing broad characters that the film serves as a nice reminder of how good she can be in more subtle roles. It should also be noted that Michael Gambon, Guy Pearce, and Timothy Spall are all fantastic in their supporting roles. Spall is especially good as Winston Churchill. I was so enamoured with his work, that I would not have minded if the film had veered off and just followed Churchill through the war years.

While I do not think it is the Best Picture of the year, I can see why The King’s Speech was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. It is a film that will educate and entertain at the same time. Plus the performances are what really make this film standout above many of its competitors.

BAFTA Awards 2011 Probable Best Actor Colin Firth

BAFTA Awards 2011 Probable Best Actor Colin Firth or James Franco

Following on from his triumph at the Golden Globes, Colin Firth is big favourite to scoop another award for his performance of George VI in The King's Speech. Will he beat James Franco to the BAFTA for Best Actor?

View full range of The BAFTAs Awards 2011 Live online

Countdown to TIFF: 2004 in Review

TIFF 2004

This was a rather tough year for me. Four days into the festival an uncle, whom I was very close to, passed away. This obviously made the festival less exciting for me as the fiction on screen could not mask the pain of real life. However, one of the bright spots of the festival was being able to see, what would become one of my favourite movies in recent years, Oldboy.


Total Number of Films Watched: 23

My Top 5:

Oldboy
The Sea Inside
5 X 2 – Five Times Two
Palindromes
Kontroll

Honourable Mention: Enduring Love, Primer, Siblings, Sucker Free City, Cronicas, Breaking News (mainly for the wonderful opening tracking shot)

The Disappointments: Phil the Alien, Seven Times Lucky, Arsene Lupin, Steamboy, Trauma

The Whale Riders (aka. I regret passing on these films): Sideways, Hotel Rwanda, Kung Fu Hustle, Nobody Knows, Millions, Tarnation, Kinsey, Double Dare

Memorable Moment: While seeing Javier Bardem, Todd Solondz, and Alejandro Amenábar was one of the highlights, the most memorable moment was watching The Machinist. I had the unfortunate luck of having to watch the film the morning after my uncle passed away. It was excruciating watching Christian Bale wither away on screen. I could not help but think of my uncles last days while watching the film. To this day I am still unable to watch The Machinist again due to the memories it evokes.

Random Star Sightings: Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Todd Solondz, Alejandro Amenábar, Anthony Mackie, Ken Leung, Rhys Ifans, Don McKellar, François Ozon, Emily Mortimer

Stylish Single Man Seeks Shoulder To Cry On

A Single Man

After the sudden death of his lover Jim (Matthew Goode), George (Colin Firth) no longer sees any reason to go on living. Consumed by grief George decides that this is the day he will commit suicide. As George goes through the daily routine, for possibly the last time, he spends time with his best friend Charley (Julianne Moore) and discovers various opportunities for new love. One of which includes Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), one of George’s students

Is it possible that a film can be too pretty for its own good? If so, then I think A Single Man falls into that category. Tom Ford clearly has a keen visual eye. Every single frame in the film could be its own poster or magazine photograph. I really enjoyed the shots where George was observing the physical details of the various people he encountered. At times I found myself being so distracted by the visuals that I was starting to ignore aspects of the narrative.

Despite the strong visuals, Ford is determined to have A Single Man be more than just a stylish film. He really works hard to ensure that the story and characters are always at the forefront. This is what makes Tom Ford’s directorial debut such a memorable film. The story may revolve around George’s grief over losing his lover, but there is opportunity for him to find love around every corner. George is practically the gay kin of James Bond and Shaft, as it seems almost every person he meets wants to bed him. The refreshing thing about this is that George is completely aware of his sexual magnetism and often struggles not to give into his own urges.

The film is as much about moving on as it is about mourning loss. As much as I enjoyed the flashbacks segments between George and Jim, it was more exciting watching the cat and mouse like game that George plays with Kenny. The romantic tension is palpable yet it is George’s guilt, or at least his need to hold onto to the guilt, that is the wedge in their budding relationship.

The need to hold onto the past is also found in the George and Charley arc. To me this is the most gut wrenching part of the whole movie. George and Charley both have baggage to deal with but they display it in different ways. George wallows in his grief while Charley puts on the façade of being carefree. In my opinion it is Charley who is by far the saddest character in the whole picture. Her whole life is defined by the various men in her life. Now living alone, Charley drinks away her pain while secretly longing to rekindle the magical night she once had with George. The fact that George views their one encounter as a just a moment of fun is very telling. It represents how Charley has been viewed by most of the men in her life.

A lot of credit must be giving to both Colin Firth and Julianne Moore for their work in A Single Man. They do a wonderful job bring out the complexities of their individual characters. Their unique performances help to convey the sorrow and joy within George and Charley. Although there is a lot of grief that runs throughout A Single Man; the performances coupled with Tom Ford visual flare makes this film a rather joyous film to watch.

A Christmas Carol Out of Tune

A Christmas Carol

The massive success of Avatar only cements that 3D films are here to stay. So the question now becomes what requirements does a movie need to warrant this technology? Would Inglourious Basterds or Up in the Air be better or worse if they were done in 3D?

Robert Zemeckis follows up his Old English 3D epic, Beowulf, by revisiting the holiday terrain he first ventured to with his 3D movie, The Polar Express. A Christmas Carol finds Zemeckis tackling Charles Dickens classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) who is visited by three ghosts (all Carrey) on the eve of Christmas. The three ghosts will not only show Scrooge the errors of his past and present, but how Scrooge's decisions may lead towards an unsettling future.

Zemeckis has been one of the prominent filmmakers who has been championing the 3D movement for that past 5 years now. While the animation in Zemeckis's 3D films keeps improving, the 3D technology continues to thwart his overall storytelling. A Christmas Carol follows a ever growing number of films that serves no real purpose in 3D format at all. The flow of each ghosts' segment is constantly interrupted for no other purpose than to justify the extra price of admission. As a result we are provided with 3D scenes of Scrooge being shot into space, speeding down the street on a soda bottle, etc. Sure these scenes may please the really young kids in attendance, whose attention spans are small to being with, but for the rest of us this is just plain annoying.

The need to justify the 3D format hurts the one element of the film where Zemeckis actually got it right, the story. Although the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge has been interpreted numerous times, it was actually refreshing to see how close Zemeckis stayed to Charles Dickens' original story. While many incarnations of A Christmas Carol have glossed over, or simply left out, the religious element of the text; Zemeckis does not shy away from it at all. Robert Zemeckis even goes as far as making the ghost of Christmas-present God himself. There is even a great scene where the ghost of Christmas-present, after being questioned by Scrooge, chastises those who use his name as grounds for conducting evil deeds. It is moments like this, and not the 3D snowflakes, where A Christmas Carol really connects with the audience.

Another thing connects, but ultimately gets lost in Zemeckis' 3D excess, is Jim Carrey's performance. Carrey actually does a really good job not only as Scrooge but the three ghosts as well. As Scrooge, Carrey finds the right balance where we believe him as botha crotchety old-man and a misguided soul who just wants one last shot at redemption. In A Christmas Carol, Carrey is actually the best he has been since his 2004 combo of Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It is just too bad that Zemeckis inadvertently overshadows Carrey's work with his need to have objects flying off the screen. If A Christmas Carol had just played it straight, it might actually be worth recommending. Unfortunately Zemeckis tries too hard to create a 3D experience for a picture that should not have been in 3D in the first place.