Sunday 31 October 2010

The King's speech 23/10/2010

This is a great period piece, set around the abdication crisis in the UK in the 1930s.  Colin Firth excels as the Duke of York, who suffered from a terrible stutter, and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist - he cuts through all the pomposity of royal etiquette, and establishes a genuine friendship with the Duke.  Timothy Spall stars as Churchill - quite a transition from Auf Wiedersehen Pet in the 1980s.  The film gave me a greater understanding of the difficult period in Britain ahead of the Second World War, and would go well with "A gathering storm" which portrays Churchill in roughly the same period, with Albert Finney in the lead role.

I saw this film as part of the London Film Festival, at the Vue in Leicester Square.