The King's Speech (Movie Review)

Going into the 2010/2011 awards season, I was pretty sure that the two major contenders for the Academy Awards were Christopher Nolan's Inception and David Fincher's The Social Network. There were other potential favorites of course, like The Town and Black Swan. But I think no one really foresaw that the year's finest movie would be coming out mere days before the nominations for the Academy Awards were announced.

Originally intended as a stage play, The King's Speech tells the story of Prince Albert (Colin Firth) who must learn to overcome his speech impediment with the help of a speech therapist named Lionel (Geoffrey Rush), in order to better serve his country in its greatest moment of need. He was never really intended to be king; his older brother, Edward (Guy Pearce) rose to the throne following the death of their father, King George V (Michael Gambon). But following Edward's decision to abdicate the throne, Albert is left with no choice but to embrace his destiny and face his greatest fear: giving public speeches.

My expectations for The King's Speech were set very high, largely due to the level of critical acclaim it achieved following its January 2011 release. But the movie somehow managed to exceed those expectations. It is arguably one of the best acted movies I have seen. Ever. Not to mention it has tremendous production values, especially when weighed against its £8 million budget. It was a movie that I instantly fell in love with and I would highly recommend seeing it if you haven't already.