Last night was monthly movie night! First, we had dinner at Pacific Catch, which was delish. I had the Salmon Salad. Erik also joined us for movie night, which was a first! So glad he could make it!!
Then, we went to see the King's Speech. Colin Firth played the Duke of York who became King George VI back in 1936 in England. King George came from a powerful family but had one characteristic about him that held him back....he had a stammer. It was really difficult for him to speak in public and even in regular conversation, he could not get the words out sometimes.
After trying to work with many different speech therapists, he begins to work with Lionel. Lionel is played by Geoffrey Rush and really did a wonderful job in this role. The King and Lionel form a unique friendship as they have to work together in different ways for the King to overcome his stutter; this includes getting to the root of WHY he stutters. This movie is much more than watching someone overcome a challenge, it is about friendship & personal growth.
Colin Firth was also great in this role & I'm sure he had to do a lot of research & studying on the subject of stuttering & also King George. Firth & Rush are both up for Oscars and hope they win!
This movie was filmed in a unique way, as well, to focus on each actor individually but also his background environment. I felt that there was a lot of symbolism & connections with the environments within the film and the situations the actors were in. For example, King George became King during the start of WWII. The stutter that overtook the King's life was similar to the war that was going outside of the castle. The stutter was the King's own personal war he was fighting.
Two other great actors were also in this film: Helena Bonham Carter & Timothy Spall. Both were also in Sweeney Todd, a movie we love. I'm surprised they couldn't find a role for Alan Rickman, who was also in Sweeney Todd among other films like Harry Potter(Snape) & Love Actually.
Overall, a wonderful movie, surprisingly funny with a strong cast for this movie to showcase the unique friendship between a King and his voice therapist.
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