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The King's Speech

The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer. The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer. The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.

David Seidler
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Rush
Helena Bonham Carter
831 User reviews
486 Critic reviews
88 Metascore
108 wins & 206 nominations total

The King's Speech: International Trailer

King George VI

Lionel Logue

Queen Elizabeth

Archbishop Cosmo Lang

Private Secretary

BBC Radio Announcer

Robert Wood

BBC Technician

Dr. Blandine Bentham

Laurie Logue

Myrtle Logue

Valentine Logue
Anthony Logue

Princess Elizabeth

Princess Margaret

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Trivia Nine weeks before filming began, Lionel Logue's grandson, Mark Logue , discovered a large box in his attic that contained his grandfather's personal papers. The box held Lionel Logue's diary, his appointment book, notes from his speech therapy sessions with King George VI , and over 100 personal letters to Logue from the King. It also contained what is believed to be the actual copy of the speech used by George VI in his 1939 radio broadcast announcing the declaration of war with Germany. Mark Logue turned his grandfather's papers, letters, and diary over to director Tom Hooper and screenwriter David Seidler , who used them to flesh out the relationship between Logue and the King. Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth also read through the material for insight into their characters. The exchange in this movie between Logue and King George VI following his radio speech ("You still stammered on the 'W'." / "Well, I had to throw in a few so they knew it was me.") was taken directly from Logue's diary. Firth insisted that it should be included in the movie.
Goofs In the final speech, King George VI has one blue eye and one brown eye. Colin Firth had lost a contact lens.

King George VI : All that... work... down the drain. My own... b... brother, I couldn't say a single w-word to him in reply.

Lionel Logue : Why do you stammer so much more with David than you ever do with me?

King George VI : 'Cos you're b... bloody well paid to listen.

Lionel Logue : Bertie, I'm not a geisha girl.

King George VI : Stop trying to be so bloody clever.

Lionel Logue : What is it about David that stops you speaking?

King George VI : What is it about you that bloody well makes you want to go on about it the whole bloody time?

Lionel Logue : Vulgar, but fluent; you don't stammer when you swear.

King George VI : Oh, bugger off!

Lionel Logue : Is that the best you can do?

King George VI : [like an elocution lesson] Well... bloody bugger to you, you beastly bastard.

Lionel Logue : Oh, a public school prig could do better than that.

King George VI : Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

Lionel Logue : Yes!

King George VI : Shit!

Lionel Logue : Defecation flows trippingly from the tongue!

King George VI : Because I'm angry!

Lionel Logue : Do you know the f-word?

King George VI : F... f... fornication?

Lionel Logue : Oh, Bertie.

King George VI : Fuck. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck and fuck! Fuck, fuck and bugger! Bugger, bugger, buggerty buggerty buggerty, fuck, fuck, arse!

Lionel Logue : Yes...

King George VI : Balls, balls...

Lionel Logue : ...you see, not a hesitation!

King George VI : ...fuckity, shit, shit, fuck and willy. Willy, shit and fuck and... tits.

Crazy credits In the end credit roll, Philip Clements is listed twice as Assistant Sound Editor.
Connections Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 22 October 2010 (2010)
Soundtracks Le nozze di Figaro Overture Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [During the first therapy session when King's voice is being recorded]

User reviews 831

Jan 2, 2011
Just what time frame are we talking about here?
What causes Bertie's stammer?
Why couldn't King Edward marry Wallis Simpson?
December 25, 2010 (United States)
United States
United Kingdom
Official Site
Nhà Vua Nói Lắp
Elland Road Football Stadium, Elland Road, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK (as Wembley Stadium at start of film)
The Weinstein Company
UK Film Council
Momentum Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$15,000,000 (estimated)
$138,797,449
Nov 28, 2010
$484,068,861

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 58 minutes
Dolby Digital

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The King's Speech

56 pages • 1 hour read

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Summary and Study Guide

The King’s Speech is a 2010 non-fiction book about King George VI and how he was treated for a speech impediment by the Australian Lionel Logue . Their unlikely friendship is credited for saving the British monarchy during a difficult time in world history. The King’s Speech was co-authored by Mark Logue (grandson of Lionel Logue) and Peter Conradi (an accomplished author of historical nonfiction) as an accompaniment to the Oscar-winning 2010 film of the same name.

Plot Summary

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The book begins in May 1937. King George VI wakes up on the morning of his coronation, already nervous. The British monarchy is facing “one of the greatest crises” (16) in its history following the abdication of Edward VIII. Also in London, an Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue wakes up and begins to travel to the coronation with his wife Myrtle. The King is expected to deliver a speech, and the stammer he has suffered from since childhood has made this a difficult prospect. The streets are packed as the crowds gather to watch the ceremony. The coronation goes well. That evening, Logue travels to Buckingham Palace to help the King prepare for a radio broadcast. The next day, the King’s speech is hailed as a success.

Logue was born in Adelaide in 1880. He develops an interest in elocution and begins to perform speeches onstage for rapt audiences. He meets and marries a woman named Myrtle, and the two have a son together. They travel the world in 1908, leaving their son Laurie at home. They plan to move to Britain but do not do so until 1924. Logue becomes famous in Australia for his skills as a speech therapist.

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By the time the Logue family moves to Great Britain, they have three sons. The country is still recovering from World War I and an economic recession. Logue sets up a speech therapy practice. He develops a number of key techniques to treat speech impediments.

The future King George VI is born in December 1895. His grandmother is Queen Victoria. With his brother, he is raised mostly by nurses and governesses, leading to a distant relationship with his parents. Whereas his brother is charming and fun, he has developed a terrible stammer. Bertie (as he is known) attends naval college and does not excel. His father is eventually proclaimed King. Bertie struggles to give speeches and frequently falls ill. In adulthood, Bertie slowly becomes his father’s favorite while his brother argues with the King and has developed a reputation for socializing. Bertie meets Elizabeth, and they marry, which pleases Bertie’s father, though his stammer remains an issue. Public speaking makes him incredibly nervous. One speech ends in humiliation for Bertie. Logue hears him speak and believes he can help. Bertie has sought medical advice, but it has always failed him. At Elizabeth’s request, Bertie agrees to meet with Logue.

Logue and Bertie meet at Logue’s office. Logue declares that he can cure the stammer but demands that his patient apply a tremendous amount of effort. They meet often, and two well-delivered speeches are seen as evidence of improvement. A royal trip to Australia goes very well, and Bertie is commended for his speech. The lessons continue.

Logue takes Myrtle to the Palace, where they are presented at court. Bertie’s improvement is noted in the press, though Logue declines to answer questions on the matter. The story is eventually published, and Logue is credited for his work, becoming famous. Bertie continues to toil and the beginnings of a real friendship between him and Logue emerge.

The narrative moves into the 1930s. Bertie is becoming more involved in the monarchy while his daughters are becoming world famous. He visits Logue less frequently but remains in touch. The Great Depression affects both men’s families. King George V dies in 1936, precipitating change for both men.

Edward takes the throne as a popular King, but his romantic relationship with twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson is scandalous. When he announces that he wants to marry Wallis, he is told it is not possible. Edward abdicates the throne. Bertie takes the throne as his brother leaves the country. Bertie becomes King George VI. His speech impediment is now an even bigger issue, even if his treatment has been going well.

Logue helps the new King prepare for his coronation. There will be a speech to the crowd and a radio broadcast for the Empire. Rehearsals do not go well, though the Queen is a calming influence. A back-up recording is made from practice speeches in the event that something should go wrong.

Both speeches are a triumph. Logue continues to help the King prepare his speeches. The monarch’s new workload is notably draining. The King delivers a Christmas day speech in the mold of his father, which Logue helps prepare. They spend Christmas day together, and the King gives Logue a present as a means of thanking him. Myrtle returns to Australia, where she is treated like a celebrity. Everyone wants to know about her husband’s work with the King.

As Europe moves closer to the Second World War, the King travels to Europe. He delivers speeches and meets with President Roosevelt. Logue grows closer to the royal family, and when the King returns from America, they chat informally about the trip while preparing for a speech.

The Second World War begins. The Logues’ Bavarian cook returns to Germany. Air raid sirens encourage everyone to move to shelters. The King and Logue prepare a special radio broadcast to reassure people. Rationing is introduced. The Christmas speech becomes a yearly tradition.

The war continues. The King’s hair is beginning to grey as he and Logue prepare a speech for Empire Day. Logue listens to the speech, marveling at the progress the King has made. The King is proud. The Nazis are winning in the war. Logue’s eldest son is conscripted. London is bombed. Logue assists with another Christmas speech. As he listens, he stops following along because he realizes that there is no need.

By 1943, the war has turned in the Allies’ favor. The King visits North Africa. All three Logue boys are now serving in the military. Logue’s business suffers due to the war and the King donates £500 as a means of thanking Logue. They prepare a speech for the eve of D-Day, which is a great success. The war continues, as does the bombing of London. The King delivers the Christmas speech without Logue, and it is a great success.

The Allies win the war. The entire country celebrates. Later, while Logue is undergoing surgery, Myrtle suffers a heart attack. Logue is devastated. Logue continues to work, though he sells the large (and now empty) family house. He is lonely and develops an interest in psychics. The King’s daughter marries, and the King’s health worsens.

The King delivers his final Christmas speech in 1951 and dies in his sleep a short time later. He and Logue corresponded up until his death. Logue recovers from his own illness to write to the Queen, mourning the loss of her husband. Princess Elizabeth is crowned Queen Elizabeth II. Logue dies in 1953 as a result of kidney failure. He does not survive to see Elizabeth’s coronation, though he is invited.

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The King's Speech Summary

Lights, camera, action.

In the opening scene, we find out that King George V rules over a quarter of the world's population and that his second son, the Duke of York, is supposed to give a speech in front of tens of thousands of people.

Of course, the speech doesn't go well at all. Why? Cecause "Bertie" can't string two words together without falling into a bad stutter.

Flash forward to eight years later, and we find Bertie sitting in the office of a speech therapist who's trying all sorts of cockamamie ideas to cure his stutter. Marbles in the mouth? Doctor-approved cigarettes? Who are these quacks? Frustrated, Bertie gives up and tells his wife Elizabeth that he's finished with trying to cure his stutter.

Elizabeth doesn't give up, though. She visits one last controversial therapist named Lionel Logue and asks him if he can help her husband. He insists that he can, but he'll require total equality whenever Bertie is in his office.

Logue convinces Bertie to keep seeing him after he tricks Bertie into giving a stutter-free reading of Hamlet . Logue and Bertie work closely together, but no matter how much progress they make, all of it seems to evaporate as soon as Bertie gets into a stressful situation. That's why Logue insists on delving into Bertie's personal life; he's convinced that Bertie's stutter is connected to childhood trauma—which it probably is.

Things are already pretty bad, but they quickly get even worse. Bertie's father, King George V, passes away and leaves the throne to Bertie's irresponsible brother David.

At least Bertie won't have to be king, right?

One day, Bertie gets the horrible news that his brother David is going to leave the throne of England in order to marry an American divorcée named Wallis. That means that Bertie will have to step up and become king. And if things weren't bad enough, England is about to go to war with Germany, which means the king (Bertie) will have to give speeches to rally his country.

This is a nightmare for Bertie, but Logue promises to help him deliver his speeches. In a dramatic scene at Westminster Abbey, Logue also makes Bertie realize that he deserves to be heard—not as a king, but as a human being.

In the movie's final scene, Logue steps into a broadcasting room with Bertie and helps him get through his first wartime speech. With Logue's help and friendship, Bertie gives a killer speech, and people all over England are inspired by his words.

A final set of 411 tell us that Bertie and Logue would go on to be friends for the rest of their lives and that Logue would help Bertie with all of his wartime speeches. Bertie would go on to be known to all British subjects as "The Good King."

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Movie Review | 'The King’s Speech'

The King’s English, Albeit With Twisted Tongue

By Manohla Dargis

Nov. 25, 2010

British films that make it to American screens these days often fall into two distinct niches: life is miserable and life is sweet (to borrow a title from the director Mike Leigh, who oscillates between the two). Given its quality headliners and high commercial profile (ding-dong, is that Oscar calling?), it’s no surprise that “The King’s Speech,” a buddy story about aggressively charming opposites — Colin Firth as the stutterer who would be king and Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist — comes with heaping spoonfuls of sugar.

The story largely unfolds during the Great Depression, building to the compulsory rousing end in 1939 when Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, world calamities that don’t have a patch on the urgent matter of the speech impediment of Albert Frederick Arthur George (Mr. Firth). As a child, Albert, or Bertie as his family called him, the shy, sickly second son of King George V (Michael Gambon, memorably severe and regal), had a stutter debilitating enough that as an adult he felt compelled to conquer it. In this he was aided by his wife, Elizabeth (a fine Helena Bonham Carter), a steely Scottish rose and the mother of their daughters, Elizabeth, the future queen (Freya Wilson), and Margaret (Ramona Marquez).

Albert meets his new speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Mr. Rush), reluctantly and only after an assortment of public and private humiliations. (In one botched effort, a doctor instructs Albert to talk with a mouthful of marbles, a gagging endeavor that might have altered the imminent monarchical succession.) As eccentric and expansive as Albert is reserved, Logue enters the movie with a flourish, insisting that they meet in his shabby-chic office and that he be permitted to call his royal client, then the Duke of York, by the informal Bertie. It’s an ideal odd coupling, or at least that’s what the director Tom Hooper would have us believe as he jumps from one zippy voice lesson to the next, pausing every so often to wring a few tears.

To that generally diverting end, Albert barks and brays and raps out a calculatingly cute string of expletives, including the four-letter kind that presumably earned this cross-demographically friendly film its R. With their volume turned up, the appealing, impeccably professional Mr. Firth and Mr. Rush rise to the Acting occasion by twinkling and growling as their characters warily circle each other before settling into the therapeutic swing of things and unknowingly preparing for the big speech that partly gives the film its title. Before you know it, Elizabeth (Ms. Bonham Carter), the future dumpling known as the Queen Mother, is sitting on Bertie’s chest during an exercise while he lies on Logue’s floor, an image that is as much about the reassuring ordinariness of the royals as it is about Albert’s twisting tongue.

It isn’t exactly “Pygmalion,” not least because Mr. Hooper has no intention of satirizing the caste system that is one of this movie’s biggest draws. Unlike “The Queen,” a barbed look at the royal family after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, “The King’s Speech” takes a relatively benign view of the monarchy, framing Albert as a somewhat poor little rich boy condemned to live in a fishbowl, an idea that Mr. Hooper unwisely literalizes by overusing a fisheye lens. The royals’ problems are largely personal, embodied by King George playing the stern 19th-century patriarch to Logue’s touchy-feely Freudian father. And while Albert initially bristles at Logue’s presumptions, theirs is finally a democracy of equals, an angle that makes their inequities go down in a most uneventful way.

Each character has his moments, instances when Bertie the closed book tentatively opens and Logue’s arrogance gets away from him, but both are too decent, too banal and the film too ingratiating to resonate deeply. Albert’s impediment certainly pales in comparison with the drama surrounding his older, popular brother, David, later King Edward VIII (a fantastic Guy Pearce), and his married American divorcée, Mrs. Wallis Simpson (Eve Best). After King George V dies, David assumes the crown and continues to carry on with Mrs. Simpson, a liaison that, because of its suggestively perverse power dynamics — at a party, she orders the new king (yoo-hooing “David”) to fetch her booze — hints at a more interesting movie than the one before you.

That film does have its attractions, notably in its two solid leads and standout support from Mr. Pearce. Mercurially sliding between levels of imperiousness and desperation, he creates a thorny tangle of complications in only a few abbreviated scenes, and when his new king viciously taunts Bertie, you see the entirety of their cruel childhood flashing between them. By the time he abdicates in 1936, publicly pledging himself to Mrs. Simpson (“the woman I love”), turning the throne over to King George VI, Edward has a hold on your affections. Those would surely lessen if the film tagged after him when he and Mrs. Simpson subsequently took their post-abdication tour around Germany, where they had tea with Hitler and the Duke returned the Führer’s Nazi salute. Like many entertainments of this pop-historical type, “The King’s Speech” wears history lightly no matter how heavy the crown.

The King’s Speech

Opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by Tom Hooper; written by David Seidler; director of photography, Danny Cohen; edited by Tariq Anwar; music by Alexandre Desplat; production design by Eve Stewart; costumes by Jenny Beavan; produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin; released by the Weinstein Company. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes.

WITH: Colin Firth (King George VI), Geoffrey Rush (Lionel Logue), Helena Bonham Carter (Queen Elizabeth), Guy Pearce (King Edward VIII), Jennifer Ehle (Myrtle Logue), Eve Best (Wallis Simpson), Freya Wilson (Princess Elizabeth), Ramona Marquez (Princess Margaret), Claire Bloom (Queen Mary), Derek Jacobi (Archbishop Cosmo Lang), Michael Gambon (King George V), Timothy Spall (Winston Churchill) and Anthony Andrews (Stanley Baldwin).

“The King’s Speech” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Coarse language.

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Review: The King's Speech

By Scott Foundas in the November-December 2010 Issue

“In the past, all a king had to do was look good in uniform,” observes King George V (Michael Gambon)—the first British monarch to address his subjects via radio—early on in Tom Hooper’s splendid period drama The King’s Speech . “Now we must invade people’s homes and ingratiate ourselves,” he continues. “We’ve become actors!” And this was 1934, three decades before the landmark BBC television documentary Royal Family brought the House of Windsor even closer to the people, and five before Lady Diana Spencer irrevocably blurred the line between commoner and royal, princess and pop icon. George V’s comments are directed at his youngest son, Albert Frederick Arthur George (Colin Firth), who will soon be thrust upon the throne just as England readies to enter World War II. But unlike his sober, stentorian-voiced father, the eventual George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II) is hopelessly tongue-tied when it comes to public speaking, the victim of an acute stammer that turns ordinary conversation into a humiliating succession of false starts and too-long pauses.

If The King’s Speech risks being too cute by half in its depiction of how this royal without a voice comes to find one in his nation’s hour of need, Hooper and screenwriter David Seidler neatly avoid that trap by training their sights on a much bigger subject—namely, how the wireless waves of radio affected seismic changes to the nature of politics and society at large, turning public figures into performers, and narrowing the distance between classes. Yet amidst all the ballyhoo about Hooper’s film as The Social Network ’s chief rival for Oscar gold, few if any have noted the extent to which the two movies orbit a similar central theme—two portraits of a communications revolution, separated by a century.

We first see the king-to-be (then Duke of York) freezing at the mic during his closing speech of the 1925 Empire Exhibition at Wembley. After being subjected to a succession of useless therapies by a series of royal quacks, the Duke takes a grudging chance on one Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian-born amateur actor and self-taught speech therapist with no credentials other than his own track record. What follows suggests a role-reversal My Fair Lady , with the lowly Antipodean coaching the aristocrat through measures (rolling around on the ground, shouting streams of obscenities) that have more in common with radical psychotherapy than conventional speech pathology.

Conducting the sessions in a draughty basement room with unfinished walls, Logue adds insult to injury by asking His Royal Highness leading questions about his childhood—an inventory of other forcibly corrected “defects,” including left-handedness and knock knees—and calling him by his family nickname, “Bertie.” (He insists that, in order for the treatment to work, the two men must regard each other as equals.) Their back-and-forth repartee, courtesy of Seidler (a septuagenarian Hollywood vet whose most notable prior credit was on Francis Coppola’s Tucker: The Man and His Dream ), is as sharp as anything this side of Aaron Sorkin. Even sharper, arguably, is the film’s sense of the high value placed on normalcy in a society with little tolerance for disability and aberration.

These are the sort of plum roles that can all too easily turn into smoked ham, but Firth and Rush manage them with an ideal balance of flourish and restraint. Hooper, who has become something of a specialist in exhuming British history from the mothballs of Masterpiece Theatre —his credits include Elizabeth I (05) and the masterful Longford (06), as well as The Damned United (09)—does so again, shooting in long takes and exaggerated wide angles that amplify Bertie’s mounting sense of uncertainty as he finds the weight of the world—and so many words—upon his shoulders.

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"The King's Speech" tells the story of a man compelled to speak to the world with a stammer. It must be painful enough for one who stammers to speak to another person. To face a radio microphone and know the British Empire is listening must be terrifying. At the time of the speech mentioned in this title, a quarter of the Earth's population was in the Empire, and of course much of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia would be listening — and with particular attention, Germany.

The king was George VI. The year was 1939. Britain was entering into war with Germany. His listeners required firmness, clarity and resolve, not stammers punctuated with tortured silences. This was a man who never wanted to be king. After the death of his father, the throne was to pass to his brother Edward. But Edward renounced the throne "in order to marry the woman I love," and the duty fell to Prince Albert, who had struggled with his speech from an early age.

In "The King's Speech," director Tom Hooper opens on Albert ( Colin Firth ), attempting to open the British Empire Exhibition in 1925. Before a crowded arena and a radio audience, he seizes up in agony in efforts to make the words come out right. His father, George V ( Michael Gambon ), has always considered "Bertie" superior to Edward ( Guy Pearce ), but mourns the introduction of radio and newsreels, which require a monarch to be seen and heard on public occasions.

At that 1925 speech, we see Bertie's wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), her face filled with sympathy. As it becomes clear that Edward's obsession with Wallis Simpson (Eve Best) is incurable, she realizes her Bertie may face more public humiliation. He sees various speech therapists, one of whom tries the old marbles-in-the-mouth routine first recommended by Demosthenes. Nothing works, and then she seeks out a failed Australian actor named Lionel Logue ( Geoffrey Rush ), who has set up a speech therapy practice.

Logue doesn't realize at first who is consulting him. And one of the subjects of the film is Logue's attitude toward royalty, which I suspect is not untypical of Australians; he suggests to Albert that they get on a first-name basis. Albert has been raised within the bell jar of the monarchy and objects to such treatment, not because he has an elevated opinion of himself but because, well, it just isn't done. But Logue realizes that if he is to become the king's therapist, he must first become his friend.

If the British monarchy is good for nothing else, it's superb at producing the subjects of films. "The King's Speech," rich in period detail and meticulous class distinctions, largely sidesteps the story that loomed over this whole period, Edward's startling decision to give up the crown to marry a woman who was already divorced three times. Indeed, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (as they became) would occupy an inexplicable volume of attention for years, considering they had no significance after the Duke's abdication. The unsavory thing is that Wallis Simpson considered herself worthy of such a sacrifice from the man she allegedly loved. This film finds a more interesting story about better people; Americans, who aren't always expert on British royalty, may not necessarily realize that Albert and wife Elizabeth were the parents of Queen Elizabeth II. God knows what Edward might have fathered.

Director Tom Hooper makes an interesting decision with his sets and visuals. The movie is largely shot in interiors, and most of those spaces are long and narrow. That's unusual in historical dramas, which emphasize sweep and majesty and so on. Here we have long corridors, a deep and narrow master control room for the BBC, rooms that seem peculiarly oblong. I suspect he may be evoking the narrow, constricting walls of Albert's throat as he struggles to get words out.

The film largely involves the actors Colin Firth, formal and decent, and Geoffrey Rush, large and expansive, in psychological struggle. Helena Bonham Carter, who can be merciless (as in the "Harry Potter" films), is here filled with mercy, tact and love for her husband; this is the woman who became the much-loved Queen Mother of our lifetimes, dying in 2002 at 101. As the men have a struggle of wills, she tries to smooth things (and raise her girls Elizabeth and Margaret). And in the wider sphere, Hitler takes power, war comes closer, Mrs. Simpson wreaks havoc, and the dreaded day approaches when Bertie, as George VI, will have to speak to the world and declare war.

Hooper's handling of that fraught scene is masterful. Firth internalizes his tension and keeps the required stiff upper lip, but his staff and household are terrified on his behalf as he marches toward a microphone as if it is a guillotine. It is the one scene in the film that must work, and it does, and its emotional impact is surprisingly strong. At the end, what we have here is a superior historical drama and a powerful personal one. And two opposites who remain friends for the rest of their lives.

Note: The R rating refers to Logue's use of vulgarity. It is utterly inexplicable. This is an excellent film for teenagers.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The King's Speech (2010)

Rated R for language

118 minutes

Directed by

David Seidler

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The King's Speech

Where to Watch

Colin Firth (King George VI) Geoffrey Rush (Lionel Logue) Helena Bonham Carter (Queen Elizabeth) Derek Jacobi (Archbishop Cosmo Lang) Robert Portal (Equerry) Richard Dixon (Private Secretary) Paul Trussell (Chauffeur) Adrian Scarborough (BBC Radio Announcer) Andrew Havill (Robert Wood) Charles Armstrong (BBC Technician)

The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.

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The King's Speech

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Colin Firth gives a masterful performance in The King's Speech , a predictable but stylishly produced and rousing period drama.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Colin Firth

King George VI

Geoffrey Rush

Lionel Logue

Helena Bonham Carter

Queen Elizabeth

King Edward VIII

Timothy Spall

Winston Churchill

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The King’s Speech

A stirring, handsomely mounted tale of unlikely friendship starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Americans love kings, so long as they needn’t answer to them, and no king of England had a more American success story than that admirable underdog George VI, Duke of York, who overcame a dreadful stammer to rally his people against Hitler. A stirring, handsomely mounted tale of unlikely friendship starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush , “The King’s Speech ” explores the bond between the painfully shy thirtysomething prince and the just-this-side-of-common, yet anything-but-ordinary speech therapist who gave the man back his confidence. Weinstein-backed November release should tap into the same audience that made “The Queen” a prestige hit.

Though hardly intended as a public service message, “The King’s Speech” goes a long way to repair decades of vaudeville-style misrepresentation on the subject of stuttering, which traditionally serves either for comic effect (think Porky Pig) or as lazy shorthand for a certain softness of mind, character or spine. Screenwriter David Seidler approaches the condition from another angle entirely, spotlighting a moment in history when the rise of radio and newsreels allowed the public to listen to their leaders, shifting the burden of government from intellect to eloquence.

These pressures are too much for Prince Albert (Firth), whose crippling speech impediment causes public embarrassment at 1925’s British Empire Exhibition. Director Tom Hooper (HBO’s “John Adams,” “The Damned United”) alternates between nervous Albert and the fussy yet professional BBC announcer in this opening scene to contrast one man dragged into public speaking with another who’d elected the bloody job for himself.

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Albert’s father, King George V (authoritatively played by Michael Gambon), is no more fond of the wireless, but eventually embraces the device for a series of annual Christmas addresses. Though tough on his tongue-tied son, he views Albert as a more responsible successor than his reckless brother Edward (Guy Pearce), who indeed will famously renounce the throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson ( Eve Best ). But George V fears the stammer is unbefitting the throne. “In the past, all a king had to do was wear a uniform and not fall off his horse,” he laments.With responsibility for the crown looming, Albert’s wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter, in her most effectively restrained performance since “The Wings of the Dove”) seeks out the services of Lionel Logue (Rush), a frustrated Australian actor turned speech therapist. As portrayed by Rush, Logue is what some politely call a “force of nature” — all bluster, no tact, yet incredibly effective in his unconventional approach, rejecting the institutional thinking of the time in favor of vocal exercises and amateur psychotherapy.

While Seidler cleverly uses the prince’s handicap as a point of entry, “The King’s Speech” centers on the rocky connection that forms between Bertie (as the speech therapist calls the prince) and Lionel, whose extraordinary friendship arises directly from the latter’s insistence on a first-name, equal-to-equal dynamic quite unlike anything the Duke of York had previously encountered. Though few would deem it scandalous today, the film rather boldly dares to humanize a figure traditionally held at arm’s length from the public and treated with divine respect, deriving much of its humor from the brusque treatment the stuffy monarch-to-be receives from the irreverent Lionel (including a litany of expletives sure to earn the otherwise all-ages-friendly film an R rating).

While far from easy, both roles provide a delightful opportunity for Firth and Rush to poke a bit of fun at their profession. Firth (who is a decade older than Albert-cum-George was at the time of his coronation, and a good deal more handsome) has used the “stammering Englishman” stereotype frequently enough before, in such films as “Pride and Prejudice” and “A Month in the Country.” Here, the affliction extends well beyond bashful affectation, looking and sounding more like a man drowning in plain air as his face swells and his throat clucks, yet no words come out. Rush’s character, meanwhile, is that most delicious of caricatures, a recklessly bad actor whose shortcomings are embellished by someone who clearly knows better.

On the surface, Rush appears to have the showier of the two parts. But the big scenes are indisputably Firth’s, with two major speeches bookending the film (the latter one being the 1939 radio broadcast with which King George VI addressed a nation entering into war with Germany) and a surprisingly candid confession at roughly the midway point (in which Albert reveals the abusive treatment that likely created his stammer in the first place).

Hooper, who nimbly sidestepped the pitfalls of the generic sports movie in “The Damned United,” proves equally spry in the minefield of blue-blood biopics by using much the same m.o. — focusing on the uncommonly strong bond between two men (the director reunites with Timothy Spall here as a rather comical-looking Winston Churchill). Another repeat collaborator, production designer Eve Stewart, re-creates both royal digs and Logue’s wonderfully disheveled atelier, while Alexandre Desplat’s score gives the film an appropriate gravitas.

Production: A Weinstein Co. (in U.S.) release presented with U.K. Film Council of a See-Saw Films/Bedlam production in association with Momentum Pictures, Aegis Film Fund, Molinare, FilmNation Entertainment. Produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin. Executive producers, Geoffrey Rush, Tim Smith, Paul Brett, Mark Foligno, Harvey Weinstein, Bon Weinstein. Co-producers, Peter Heslop, Simon Egan. Co-executive producers, Deepak Sikka, Lisbeth Savill, Phil Hope. Directed by Tom Hooper. Screenplay, David Seidler.
Crew: Camera (color), Danny Cohen; editor, Tariq Anwar; music, Alexandre Desplat; music supervisor, Maggie Rodford; production designer, Eve Stewart; art director, Leon McCarthy; set decorator, Judy Farr; costume designer, Jenny Beavan; sound, John Midgley; re-recording mixer, Paul Hamblin; supervising sound editor, Lee Walpole; special effects supervisor, Mark Holt; visual effects supervisor, Tom Horton; line producer, Peter Heslop; associate producer, Charles Dorfman; assistant director, Martin Harrison; second unit camera, Matt Kenzie; casting, Nina Gold. Reviewed at Aidikoff screening room, Beverly Hills, Sept. 1, 2010. (In Telluride Film Festival; Toronto Film Festival -- Gala Presentations; London Film Festival -- Gala.) Running time: 118 MIN.
With: King George VI - Colin Firth Lionel Logue - Geoffrey Rush Queen Elizabeth - Helena Bonham Carter King Edward VIII - Guy Pearce Winston Churchill - Timothy Spall Archbishop Cosmo Lang - Derek Jacobi Myrtle Logue - Jennifer Ehle Stanley Baldwin - Anthony Andrews Queen Mary - Claire Bloom Wallis Simpson - Eve Best King George V - Michael Gambon

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How historically accurate is the movie The King's Speech

In 2010, The King’s Speech won the Oscar for Best Picture and grossed over $414 million worldwide. It was an unlikely box office champion because it was based on a true story about King George VI of Britain (1895-1952) and an Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (1880-1953). It shows how Logue helped the king overcome a crippling stammer and how this helped him lead his country during World War II. The movie was directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler.

Critics have widely praised the editing, cinematography, directing, and acting. The movie was able to express the main characters' inner life by the clever use of lighting and other cinematic techniques. Colin Firth won an Oscar for his portrayal of George IV/ The King’s Speech was produced by a British company, and it was shot mainly in London. Among the supporting cast was Helen Bonham-Carter, who played Queen Elizabeth, the wife of the king. The movie was nominated for 12 academy awards, and it won four awards, including one for Best Picture.

Before the movie began filming, the writer, Seidler, found Logue's journal and incorporated elements from the journal into the movie. However, despite this, the historical accuracy of the movie has been questioned and even widely criticized.

When does the King's Speech take place?

The King's Speech takes place mainly in the 1930s at a critical juncture for Britain and its Empire. The nation and its various dependencies had still not recovered from the ravages of World War or the Great Depression. Internationally, Hitler was in power in Germany, and many feared, correctly, that there would be another World War. [1] The rather bleak mood of the time is captured very well by the director. At this critical point in its history, the British Royal Family faced its crisis.

After George V's death, he was succeeded by his eldest son, who became Edward VII in 1936. Edward VII's reign was both brief and controversial. Edward wanted to marry a divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Marrying a divorced was unacceptable to many in Britain at this time as the King was also head of the Church of England. Divorce was socially unacceptable, and the Anglican Bishops and others denounced the idea of the monarch marrying a divorced woman.

When Edward VII decided to marry Wallis Simpson, he was forced to abdicate his crown soon after his Coronation. This meant that his younger brother George or Bertie, as he was known, became king. [2] The depiction of these events in the movie has been fictionalized but is reasonably accurate.

However, there were some inaccuracies in the movie that troubled viewers. One of the scenes that caused the most controversy was when Sir Winston Churchill, the future leader of war-time Britain, supported the accession of George V. This scene misrepresented Churchill's view of Edward's abdication entirely. Churchill supported Edward VII (1894-1972) and believed that he should remain as king despite his marriage to Wallis Simpson. He was friendly with the abdicated king and remained a supporter. [3]

Unlike in the movie, Churchill did have grave doubts about the ability of George VI to carry out his Royal duties. He was not alone in the belief, and many others shared that view in the highest circles of the British government. Over time, he did come to accept the younger brother of Edward VII and came to respect him as an able monarch and leader . [4]

The King and his Stutter

The movie's central theme is the difficulties faced by George VI because of his stutter and how Logue was able to help him overcome his speech defect. This depiction is historically accurate, and the future George VI had a serious speech impediment. In the movie, Firth's character is shown as having a terrible stammer and that when he became nervous or anxious, he was almost unable to communicate. His stammer made public speaking almost impossible for the monarch.

The movie shows that his speech impediment was a result of his insecurity and shyness. [5] This was very much the case, and George VI did have a terrible stutter from childhood. The King’s Speech accurately shows the real problems caused by the future George VI and the entire Royal Family. In one scene at the opening of an exhibition celebrating the British Empire, George struggles with a speech and becomes visibly upset. The movie shows many senior officials and members of the Royal Family becoming gravely concerned about this. In the 1930a, when the movie is set, for the first-time, Royalty members were expected to speak in public and be effective communicators because of the growing importance of the mass media. [6]

The inability of George VI to publicly speak clearly was a real problem, and it was feared that it could damage the Royal Family and even undermine confidence in the government of the British Empire. The movie does somewhat exaggerate the importance of the king’s stutter, but it was a significant issue for the Royal Family.

When did Lionel Logue begin treating George VI?

Perhaps the biggest inaccuracy in the movie is that Logue was, in reality, able to help the King to overcome his stammer before the abdication crisis and his coronation rather than after these events. He first began to treat the second son of George V in the 1920s and continued to do so for many years. The movie shows that the treatment took place in the 1930s, and this was no doubt done for dramatic effect, but this is not strictly correct.

Cooper’s movie relates how George had been seeking help all his life for his stammer, and he tried every technique and treatment available for the time, which is true. The 2010 motion picture does really capture the sense of desperation and anxiety that the future George VI had over his speech impediment. He is shown as going in desperation to the Australian Logue, and this is also correct. The therapist is shown as using innovative techniques to help George overcome his stammer, which is right. The Australian was an early pioneer in speech and language therapy, and he was an innovator. [7] The film shows Rush trying to instill more confidence in the Royal. He adopts several strategies, but none are shown to work.

How did Logue treat George VI's speech impediment?

Eventually, he provokes the king, and in his anger, he can speak stutter-free. In reality, the speech and language therapist gave the monarch a series of daily vocal exercises, such as tongue twisters, that were designed to help him to relax. This helped the future king to relax, and this was key to the improvements in his speech. The motion picture does show that the treatment was not a total success, and the king continued to have a very slight stammer. This was indeed the case. However, the improvement in the speech of George VI was remarkable, which is accurately shown in the 2010 movie. It shows George having grave doubts about Logue and his treatment when he hears that he is not formally qualified as a therapist.

In real life, this did not cause a crisis in the relationship between the British sovereign and the Australian therapist. It is correct that Logue was not formally qualified because there was no education system for language therapy when he was young. Instead, he was self-taught and had traveled the world, studying the ideas of respected speech therapists. The movie leaves the viewers in no doubt that the king and the Royal Family owed the Australian a great debt, and this was the case, and when George VI died, his widow, the Queen, wrote to the therapist to thank him for all he had done for her husband. [8]

What was the relationship between King George VI and Lionel Logue?

The movie shows that the two men began to become real friends over time, despite their differences. This was the case, and it appears that both men liked each other and even enjoyed each other’s company. The relationship between the British king and the Australian is very realistically shown, and they remained friends until the early death of George VI. The movie shows that Logue was present when George made important Radio broadcasts to the British Public. This was the case, but Logue continued to coach the king to speak in public for many years.

In the movie, Logue is shown when George VI pronounced that Britain was at war with Germany in September 1939 during a radio address to the nation. This is not correct, but the Australian did provide the king with notes on things where he should pause and breathe, and these were a real help in the most important speech the monarch ever made. Logue continued to coach the king for many years until about 1944.

The therapist is shown as being very much at ease in the King's presence and treating him like any other client. This was not the case. Despite their genuine friendship, Logue would have been expected to have been somewhat formal and respect the Royal Person of the King at all times. In real life, Logue was not as easy-going and familiar with George VI as portrayed in the historical drama. [9]

Was George VI accurately portrayed in the King's Speech?

Colin Firth’s performance was widely praised. The British actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor. While Firth's performance was widely acclaimed, there were some concerns about how accurately he portrayed the monarch. In the main, Firth did manage to capture George VI and his character in the feature film. The British actor did correctly show that the monarch was a timid and insecure man who felt that he was not equal to his Royal duties, and this was something that greatly distressed him. [10]

His stammer may have been a result of his sense of inadequacy, but this cannot be known, for certain. Firth does show that the monarch did grow in stature after he was crowned as King. It leaves the viewer in no doubt that by the end of the movie, Firth, who has largely overcome his stammer, could lead his country in its hour of greatest danger. [11]

This was the case, and the monarch became widely respected for his leadership and his calm dignity. However, the script tended to be overly sympathetic to George and avoided his character's rather unpleasant aspects. He was alleged to have both fits of anger and alleged acts of domestic violence. Those allegations have not been confirmed.

Helena Bonham Carter's performance was praised, and she does capture the personality of Queen Elizabeth (1900-2002). She was a very supportive wife and dedicated to her husband. She did not want him to become king because she feared what it would do to him. Her family, as shown in the feature film. [12] Geoffrey Rush played the character of the speech and language therapist Logue, and he presented him as a larger-than-life figure who was charismatic, and this was indeed the case. It is generally agreed that Rush really captured the personality of the acclaimed speech and language therapist.

How realistic is the King's Speech?

Overall, the movie is historically accurate. It shows the modern viewer the importance of the King's treatment for his speech impediment. This movie also captures the real sense of anxiety in Britain in the 1930s, and it broadly captures the historical context of the Coronation of George VI. The relationship between Logue and the monarch is also largely accurate. However, this is a movie, and the need to entertain means some inaccuracies, especially concerning details such as the king's treatment. However, when compared to other historical dramas, the movie is very realistic.

The King's Speech

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#54 Best Movies Based on a True Story
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"It’s a prizewinning combination, terribly English and totally Hollywood, and Firth is, once more, uncanny" David Edelstein : New York Magazine
"A riveting, intimate account at how a British king triumphed over a speech impediment" Kirk Honeycutt : The Hollywood Reporter
"A crowning achievement powered by a dream cast -- digs vibrant human drama out of the dry dust of history (...) One of the very best movies of the year (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)" Peter Travers : Rolling Stone
"Each character has his moments (...) [but the film is] too ingratiating to resonate deeply" Manohla Dargis : The New York Times
"At the end, what we have here is a superior historical drama and a powerful personal one (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)" Roger Ebert : rogerebert.com
"The two leads keep the movie afloat with their light-footed class warfare. This Anglican buddy romance is buoyed by a spicy history lesson about the scandalous marriage of the duke's elder brother" J.R. Jones : Chicago Reader
"Firth and Rush work marvelously together, generating an amusing 'Odd Couple' chemistry that’s unabashedly theatrical" Eric Kohn : IndieWire
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Film / The King's Speech

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The King's Speech is a 2010 period film, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Colin Firth , Geoffrey Rush , Helena Bonham Carter and Eve Best .

The film depicts the early years of Prince Albert, Duke of York (Firth) — the man who would be King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — and his struggle with a severe speech impediment that kept him from carrying out public speaking engagements. His wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York (Bonham-Carter), enlists the services of failed Australian actor-turned-speech therapist Lionel Logue (Rush) to help her husband. Logue's unconventional methods do indeed begin to make some progress. Meanwhile, however, Prince Albert's older brother Edward VIII ( Guy Pearce ) makes a royal botch of his own marriage plans, thrusting him even further into the spotlight, even as another famous public speaker is stirring up trouble on the continent.

This film includes examples of:

Actor Allusion : Sir Michael Gambon plays George V. He had previously played that king's father and predecessor Edward VII in The Lost Prince .
Actually Pretty Funny : Bertie's response to his wife telling him that Wallis called her "the Fat Scottish Cook" is to remind his wife she is not fat. When his wife claims she is getting fat, he says "Well, you seldom cook." It takes a moment, but she chuckles in the end.
Affectionate Nickname : "Bertie" for Albert. He first chafes at Lionel insisting on calling him that since it's reserved for his family, but once the two become friends as they work together, he no longer minds. Also downplayed a little bit because Bertie reveals David would sometimes use it as an insult for his stutter ("B-B-B-Bertie").
All Girls Like Ponies : Bertie's daughters. They have a whole "stable" of stuffed horses. Truth in Television , as the future Queen Elizabeth II was an enthusiastic equestrienne.
Always Second Best : Bertie to his father and brother. Neither has a speech impediment, to start. Subverted slightly with regards to David/Edward, as George V claimed on his bed he preferred Bertie to David and he doesn't like the idea of David on the throne dealing with the current politics. Bertie does end up doing better once Edward resigns and relinquishes the kingdom to Bertie/George VI.
The film opens with Bertie giving the closing address at the 1925 Empire Exhibition. The BBC announcer introduces the program as "National Programme and Empire Services," two separate BBC radio services which would not be launched for at least five years.
Following his 1934 Christmas speech, George V tells Bertie that they face grave threats with " Herr Hitler intimidating half of Europe, and Marshal Stalin the other half." In reality, Hitler consolidated power in 1934 and did not make territorial demands until a few years later, and while the Soviet Union had supported a number of revolutionary movements, by the 30s these had been abandoned, largely due to the rise of fascism, and they were focused on internal matters which culminated in the Great Purge. Moreover, Stalin did not award himself the title of "Marshal" until World War II . At the time, he would have been addressed as "Comrade Stalin," or even "Secretary Stalin," as he was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Angrish : Inverted, as Albert actually stutters less when he's pissed off. It becomes part of the speech therapy.
"SHIT! AND FUCK! AND tits..."
Wallis Simpson is not just an American divorcee, she's also sharing her favours with a used car salesman and getting roses from the German ambassador. Of course, said ambassador is Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Britain's future relations with Germany are not looking good.
The film's timeline is heavily compressed compared to real life, turning a period of fifteen years into just a couple. For starters, the real George VI first started meeting with Logue the year before his daughter Elizabeth was born, many years before the abdication crisis, while in the film they keep the same child actress for the entire story.
For that matter, Bertie's stutter is exaggerated for dramatic reasons. He was known to be at least a decent orator, with Logue's help, as early as 1927, when he opened Australia's parliament on behalf of his father, King George V. Though the stress of coronation did set his speech progress back.
Logue's Bunny-Ears Lawyer traits are significantly amped up in this film. The real Logue does seem to have been an unorthodox therapist that relied a lot on humor, but there's no record that he ever swore in front of the king, called him "Bertie", sat on his throne, or subjected him to so many other shenanigans.
The movie doesn't mention it, but Logue and Bertie were both Freemasons; one of the tenets of Freemasonry is that while worldly distinctions of rank, class, caste, religion, etc. may exist among Brothers, all Masons "meet upon the Level." This was the basis of his ability to leave his princehood outside the studio.
George V is shown to be rather curt and impatient with Bertie, implying a basic lack of respect. The real George V, however, generally preferred Bertie to his eldest son, and during the First World War, the two had become very close when the latter (who was serving in the Navy at the time) had to spend a long time out of action because of various gastric conditions, including appendicitis and a stomach ulcer. They exchanged very fond letters to each other, and it was at this period that the king came to think so highly of Bertie.
Edward and Bertie had three younger siblings (Mary, Henry, George, and John — the latter died a decade before the events of the movie). Mary never appears in the movie and isn't mentioned at all, while Henry and George only make a "blink and you'll miss it" appearance in the background of abdication scene. In real life, George was a personal aide-de-camp to Edward and Bertie during their respective reigns, while Bertie and Henry were very fond of each others. The original screenplay involved a conversation between Churchill and the Archbishop regarding the suitability of Henry and George as alternate kings, with them being dismissed as a Depraved Bisexual and a dimwit respectively (though in real life, Henry was the one seen as not very bright, while it was George who was rumored to be bisexual).
George was a strong supporter of Neville Chamberlain 's appeasement policy, going so far as to breach protocol and endorse Chamberlain's policy prior to the sitting of the House of Commons (though the film doesn't really say otherwise, it only more or less skips over the 1937-1939 period). This was actually the consensus attitude for the period (which makes a great deal more sense when you remember that Britain had only just started to recover from the devastation of WWI), something most people tend to overlook in favour of just blaming Chamberlain. The film also has Stanley Baldwin resigning over misjudging Hitler, which wasn't the case; he was simply ready to retire after fifteen years as leader of the Conservative Party.
The film also gets Churchill's position on the abdication crisis exactly backward; historically, Churchill was one of the few who was supportive of Edward, as Churchill's own mother was an American socialite, and he felt the government was overstepping its bounds by telling Edward who he could or couldn't marry — albeit Churchill's concerns in the film about Edward's Nazi sympathies were very much shared by his real-life counterpart. This was likely a case of Reality Is Unrealistic at work, as Churchill is such an iconic figure that chances are a lot of British audience members simply wouldn't have believed that he could have been on the "wrong" side of history on such an important matter, and would have accused the film-makers of giving him a Historical Villain Upgrade .
Similarly, Churchill and King George VI are depicted as having a friendly relationship, but actually, at the period depicted in the film, George disliked and distrusted Churchill, because Churchill had been one of the most loyal defenders of Edward VIII, and had even suggested polling the people to see if they thought Edward ought to be allowed to continue as King while marrying Wallis. This didn't change until Churchill became PM, which happened after the period shown in the film: once Churchill was reporting to George on a regular basis, they became much more friendly and George came to think that he couldn't have had a better wartime prime minister.
In real life, there was no reason why Churchill and other high ranking officials would be there during the king's speech. The writers admitted to do it on purpose due to their relevance.
Artistic License – Politics : Stanley Baldwin is shown informing George VI that he is resigning, and that he will be succeeded by Neville Chamberlain . Technically that decision isn't Baldwin's to make, but rather George's; the most that Baldwin could do was advise George who should succeed him, and by tradition the monarch always accepts that advice, but Baldwin telling the monarch who the next PM was going to be would be seen as a serious breach of protocol. In fact, Baldwin of all people should remember this part of the process, seeing how George V selected him as Prime Minister over Lord Curzon when Bonar Law was bedridden and close to death, and thus unable to offer any advice on who should succeed him.
As You Know : George V reminds Bertie that Edward will be king, delivered with sardonic disgust. George V : Your darling brother, the future king...
Autopilot Artistry : Lionel proves to George that his stutter is psychological in origin by asking George to recite a passage of text while loud music is playing through headphones. George's stutter disappears entirely when he can't hear his own voice.
Lionel's very simple statement, "I can cure your husband."
After his accession, Elizabeth confides to Bertie that she never wanted to be a prince's consort, much less a queen, but now that they're both stuck, she intends to be a very good Queen indeed. Most historians and royal biographers would agree she succeeded.
Bertie thinks David is joking when the latter grouses that their father George is deliberately dying at the moment most calculated to make his son's life more difficult. Then David adds, entirely seriously, "Wallis explained. She's very clever about these sorts of things."
After George V's death, on their way to meet David and his paramour at Balmoral Castle, Elizabeth is upset to see that the staff are, on Mrs. Simpson's orders, cutting down hundred-year-old trees just to improve the view. "Who does she think she is?" Bertie reminds her that they all have to try to be nice.
Elizabeth immediately calls out Wallis' faux-pas on her greeting Bertie and Elizabeth at Balmoral and showing them to where David is. No matter what stage of the relationship, Wallis still technically isn't royalty and David should have been the one introducing them to Wallis in accordance with Bertie and Elizabeth's position.
Berserk Button : An Invoked Trope by Lionel on several occasions (most notably when he sits in the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey) as Bertie doesn't stammer when he's angry.
Blah, Blah, Blah : While rehearsing the Coronation speech with the future king, Lionel condenses the Archbishop's words down to "rubbish, rubbish, rubbish..."
Blatant Lies : George V seems less appalled by his son David's affair with a married woman than the fact that David can look his father straight in the eye and swear up and down that they've never had "immoral relations" .
George's uniform — full regalia — at his accession council.
Later he's seen in his actual naval uniform from World War I , which is quite understated by comparison, but still sharp.
Bowdlerization : In order to maximize the film's profits, the film - an Oscar-winning feature - was re-released in the United States with some content cut out to avoid an R rating. The recut film, released in theaters around and after the Oscars, had the PG-13 rating attached to it. (See Cluster F Bomb, below, for most of what got cut.) note Critics and film buffs alike were not happy with these cuts - or even the initial R rating. Both situations were chiefly the result of the MPAA's refusal to give the original cut a PG-13 rating, despite other countries/regions giving the film their equivalent of the PG or PG-13 rating. When the film was shown uncut at the LA Film School, that scene was wildly applauded.
Brick Joke : The shilling. The first therapy session has Lionel bet a shilling, and much later, when the Bertie and Lionel make amends after their falling-out, Bertie returns the shilling.
British Stuffiness : Bertie is an uptight and proper man, to put it mildly. Arguably, the movie presents British Stuffiness itself as one of the causes of his speech disorder.
Buffy Speak : Edward refers to his general gadding about as "king-ing."
Bunny-Ears Lawyer : Lionel Logue. His methods are noted to be unorthodox and controversial. Hell, it turns out he's not even accredited or trained — he just happened to be excellent at treating people with speech disorders when people kept asking him to treat Shell-Shocked Veterans from the Great War . As he points out, there weren't any schools then, just thousands of wounded veterans who needed his help. No wonder his treatment was so effective. note This is mainly In-Universe. To his contemporaries, Logue's methods would have seemed bizarre or foolish, but to a modern audience they seem fairly straightforward. At the time, it seems, no-one except Logue would admit that psychology was involved in a speech disorder and by modern standards, the only other speech therapist that we see looks like a total quack.
Derek Jacobi 's (Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury) presence is a Shout-Out to I, Claudius , which is about another stuttering monarch who succeeded to the throne unexpectedly, and it might also allude to him being Brother Cadfael . The former is explicitly pointed out in behind-the-scenes features.
Myrtle Logue is played by Jennifer Ehle, who was Firth's love interest in the series that made him a heartthrob. Although this movie only gives her and Firth a single scene together, they make a big deal out of it.
And then there's David Bamber's blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance as the amateur dramatics director who rejects Logue. David Bamber is probably best known for playing Cicero on Rome , yet another statesman with a speech impediment. He also appeared as creepy parson Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Firth and Ehle. And he additionally played Hitler in Valkyrie .
When Logue and Elizabeth meet for the first time: Logue: Maybe he should change jobs. Elizabeth ( incognito ): He can't . Logue: Indentured servitude? Elizabeth (Incognito): Something of that nature.
Soon after he learns he's to be king: Albert: I'm just a naval officer! It's all I know how to be...
At his Accession Council, Bertie is struggling with his speech to the Privy Councillor, and he looks above their heads to a large portrait of Queen Victoria. Then around at all the other monarchs' portraits looking down at him, finishing with his own father.
Chekhov's Armoury : Albert breaks out nearly every trick Lionel teaches him during the last rehearsal scene (swearing, singing, etc).
When Lionel tries get Albert to bring up a topic to talk about, the latter responds: "Waiting for me to... commence a conversation, one can wait rather a long wait." Later, when Albert returns to apologize to Lionel , he tells him: "Waiting for a king to apologize , one can wait a long wait."
One of the things that Logue finds out is that Bertie speaks clearer if angry or swearing; cue the Cluster F-Bomb described below as Logue convinces Bertie to actually use profanity to his advantage. In the rehearsal for the first wartime speech, Bertie is heard every once in a while dropping a particularly loud F-bomb while also dancing around. In the actual wartime speech where Bertie's live on the radio, both Logue and Bertie are seen mouthing F-bombs; Logue to remind Bertie of the trick and Bertie to keep his pacing.
Cigarette of Anxiety : Bertie tries to have a cigarette after a particularly bad session with a speech therapist. His hands are shaking too much, though, and his wife lights it for him. He lights up again (despite Lionel trying to discourage him from the habit) after his argument with Lionel in the park.
Clock Discrepancy : When Bertie comes to tell David that he is late for dinner, David reminds him that their father ordered all the clocks set fast and winds the hands back on a mantle clock by half an hour. According to royal biographers, this is Truth in Television .
Cluster F-Bomb : A single scene features Albert swearing at length. "Fuck. FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck AND FUCK! Fuck, fuck AND BUGGER! Bugger, bugger, BUGGERTY BUGGERTY BUGGERTY, shit, shit, ARSE! Balls, balls, FUCKITY, shit, shit, FUCK AND WILLY. WILLY, SHIT AND FUCK AND tits ."
Commonality Connection : Before the climactic speech, Bertie is surprised to learn that the famously erudite and powerful orator Winston Churchill both hates talking on the radio and suffered a childhood speech impediment himself.
Daddy's Girl : The King has two adorable little girls, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and he makes it very clear how much he loves them. A charming case of Truth in Television .
Dark Horse Sibling : Nobody expects much of Prince Albert because of his shy personality and severe stutter, but when his older brother Edward abdicates the throne, he becomes King George VI of England.
Genteel Interbellum Setting : Pretty much all of the movie takes place in this, though you don't see a lot of the tropes commonly associated with it.
Dead Air : Most notably in the first speech shown where he stood there for over two minutes trying to talk into the microphone without being able to get anything out. Even after that, he's still stammering and pausing as everyone looks on in shame and embarrassment.
Good ol' Lionel. Lionel: [as George "Bertie" is lighting up a cigarette] Please don't do that. Albert: I'm sorry? Lionel Logue: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you. Albert: My physicians say it relaxes the throat. Lionel Logue: They're idiots. Albert: They've all been knighted. Lionel Logue: Makes it official then.
Bertie is pretty good at this himself. Lionel Logue: Surely a prince's brain knows what its mouth is doing? Albert: You're not well acquainted with princes, are you?
When Lionel forbids Prince Albert from smoking in his office, he calls the knighted doctors who recommended the prince to smoke for the good of his larynx "idiots". However, back in The Roaring '20s , that makes Logue an eccentric while modern audiences would know that a doctor giving such an advice is practically grounds for medical malpractice. This also makes sense once we remember that Logue had worked with plenty of WWI veterans and had seen the effects of gassing on young men. Bertie in turn was a turret captain on one of the Royal Navy battleships at the same war, and cordite smoke actually does even worse things to a human lungs than tobacco, but even this taught him nothing. He still smoked like a chimney to the very end.
The disregard many characters have toward Logue's psychoanalysis seems ludicrous today. However, psychiatric treatment was still in its infancy, and speech problems were not thought to be solvable through psychological treatment.
Also, the idea of Parliament making a big enough deal objecting to King Edward's wanting to marry his twice-divorced girlfriend to resign en masse over it seems an overreaction to a modern audience, but the fact that she was believed to be a German spy kind of justifies their threat. Not to mention, the King of England is also the formal head of the Church of England, a church that at the time did not recognize this kind of divorce as legitimate, and so his intention to marry a twice-divorced woman was in direct contradiction to the church's doctrine. It seems silly from a modern perspective to make such a fuss over a divorce, but the king is not merely a head of state. For a modern comparison, consider what would happen if a newly elected pope came out of the closet. Also, part of the problem was that the Church of England only approved of remarriage after divorce if the other person had died in the meantime, making it the same as if a widow/er was remarrying. Wallis was still married/going through the divorce process with her very much alive second husband, thereby not fulfilling the 'widow' part of it.
Edward VIII was widely (and not without some basis) believed to be a Nazi sympathizer. It was actually quite a popular position at the time. Additionally, his Heroic BSoD upon the death of George V is treated by the other characters as an unseemly outburst which proves he doesn't have the temperament to be king, rather than an understandable reaction to the death of a parent.
Not to mention several characters making vaguely xenophobic jibes against Logue's Australian background. At the time, settlers of British colonies were seen by metropolitan Englishmen as a lesser class of people.
Did I Just Say That Out Loud? : Bertie has several such moments in the film, when he is stunned to realize that Logue's methods have helped him overcome his stammer.
Dissonant Serenity : Invoked by Logue. Logue's more even temper contrasts with Bertie/King George's explosive one during any of their arguments or disagreements. Usually, all it takes for Bertie to calm down is Logue saying, calmly, the right thing to help Bertie see his position.
Don't Call Me "Sir" : Lionel Logue is insistent with future King George VI to call him "Lionel" and not "Doctor" and it turns out to be justified: Lionel is not a doctor, by any means, and if you check carefully, he has never once claimed that he was. He became a therapist by dint of helping PTSD-inflicted veterans of World War I in Australia. Albert is furious at first, but grows to accept it .
Doting Parent : One of Albert's most admirable traits. After his accession to the throne, it broke his heart that his beloved little girls did not run to hug him as a father, but coldly and formally curtsied to him as a King.
Double-Meaning Title : Referring to the publicly-important speech George VI delivers at the end, or to his personally-important speech , his way of speaking?
Dramatically Missing the Point : Albert criticizes his brother Edward, who is heir to the throne, of acting unbecoming of the King of England. Edward thus accuses his brother of trying to take his place as king when what he was really trying to do was telling him to get his act together specifically because Albert didn't want to be king.
Dropping the Bombshell : "And what if my husband were the Duke of York?" Cue Oh, Crap! look when Lionel Logue finally recognises that he's talking to the Duchess of York.
The Dutiful Son : Comparatively rare instance where the dutiful son is the main character.
Elmer Fudd Syndrome : In addition to his stutter, Bertie can't pronounce the letter "r". This was Truth in Television . King George VI : In this gwave hour, perhaps the most fatefuw, in ower histowy...
Empathic Environment : The weather is mostly dull, overcast, or muted colors throughout the film, except for the last scene when Bertie/King George VI steps out to see the crowds gathered outside applauding his wartime speech. It's the only time the sun is shining without clouds, and the most triumphant moment of the film.
Establishing Character Moment : Bertie accedes to his daughters’ request to tell them a bedtime story. Someone as terrified of public speaking as he is might try to pass the duty to his wife, but the thought never crosses his mind. It's not that his stammer disappears when he's speaking in private - it's still there, albeit much better - it's that he loves his family so much that, unlike public addresses, he doesn't let his stammer stop him from showing them affection.
Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy : When Bertie first meets his daughters after he became King, they formally curtsy to him, which depresses Bertie, who would much rather they had run and hugged him like they always do.
Exact Words : Throughout the film, Bertie attempts to keep things formal by calling Lionel "Doctor Logue," while Lionel insists on a first-name basis . Later, the king is told that Lionel actually has no certificates or qualifications at all. He's mortified and furious, until Lionel gently points out that Bertie was the one who insisted on calling him "Doctor" and that Lionel has never advertised himself as such.
Edward's casual comment about the troubles in Europe, "Hitler will sort it out." note Bertie's response is a prescient "Yes, and who'll sort out Herr Hitler?" While it could be considered merely naive, to modern audiences, that statement feels positively horrific and despicable to see the King of England want Nazi Germany to begin its rampage of mass death and destruction. Sadly enough, this is actually a favorable portrayal - in real life, Edward was a vocal supporter of Nazi Germany, guesting with Hitler multiple times, to the point that he had to be Kicked Upstairs to Governor of the Bahamas because the British government was that worried their once-king would try and sabotage the war effort.
Logue's comment to Bertie about how smoking will kill you. George VI continued smoking and died from lung cancer in 1952.
Fantasy-Forbidding Father : Bertie mentions that he always wanted to build models as a child, but his father collected stamps as a hobby, so they had to collect stamps.
Foil : While he only appears in some Stock Footage late in the film, Adolf Hitler is this to George VI. They're both heads of European states, but George is a poor public speaker whose role is largely ceremonial, but nonetheless cares deeply for the common man, even if he's not always the best at showing it. By contrast, Hitler was the absolute ruler of his country, and a famously magnetic speaker who was able to create a cult of personality around himself, but when it came down to it, merely saw the people he claimed to love and serve as nothing more than tools to serve his own ends, evidenced to brutal effect during the eventual fall of Nazi regime.
Foreshadowing : At Lionel's audition for Richard III (paraphrased): "That does not sound like a deformed creature yearning to be king. [...] We're looking for someone younger... and more regal." The words he speaks are also meaningful, mentioning the "son of York". Bertie is, after all, the Duke of York.
Friendly Address Privileges : Zigzagged. From the very beginning, Lionel insists on going by first-name basis, which the Duke refuses. Later on, though, as they bond, he seems not to mind "Bertie" any more, though he keeps calling Lionel "Logue" or "Doctor". At the end, in a Friendship Moment , the King finally addresses Lionel as "Lionel", while Lionel calls him "Your Majesty".
Friendship Moment : Bertie tells the Archbishop to seat Lionel in the King's box for the coronation. The Archbishop protests that the royal family is to be seated there. Bertie's response? "That is why it is suitable."
Gray Rain of Depression : Lionel comes to apologize to Albert after an argument and is told that the Duke is "too busy" to see him. He is shown the door and exits into the pouring rain. The aforementioned argument takes place in a light drizzle and a hazy fog with some sunlight.
Hair-Trigger Temper : Bertie is a downplayed example. He's generally controlled and rather stiff, but it doesn't take much to make him explode. This was Truth in Television : unlike his father and elder brother, but like his grandfather Edward VII, he was prone to outbursts of rage.
Happily Married : George VI and Queen Elizabeth; Lionel and Myrtle Logue. Also, though we don't see much of it, George V and Mary fit the trope in real life. For that matter, despite everyone calling David out for marrying her in the first place, David's marriage to Wallis Simpson was a long and happy one, too.
Hard-Work Montage : The speech therapy exercises. Over a few years, Bertie and Lionel engage in exercises to help with his speech impediment while Elizabeth observes, intercut with a of Bertie trying to address a public audience. Downplayed because Bertie is insistent his impediment is a physical problem while Logue has already sorted out it's more psychological, thus a Hope Spot moment in the middle of the montage where it seems like it's working only for it to fail because Logue's assumption is more to the actual problem.
Head-in-the-Sand Management : David, a.k.a. King Edward VIII: David: Don't worry, Herr Hitler will sort it out. Albert: [impatiently] Yes, and who'll "sort out" Herr Hitler?!
Historical Beauty Update : Colin Firth and Guy Pearce as the brothers George VI and Edward VIII, for starters (the originals were certainly not ugly; Edward VIII, in particular, was quite the ladies' man ).
Historical Domain Character : Everyone, obviously.
Historical Villain Upgrade : Zigzagged with the characterization of Edward VIII. On the one hand, his image of a romantic man who gave up the crown for love is dissected, turning him into little more than a ditzy, uncaring socialite who really had no interest in - or business - being a constitutional monarch. On the other hand, Edward's vocal support for Nazi Germany is almost completely ignored, reduced to a single throwaway line (though in-keeping with the aforementioned "ditzy socialite" characterisation).
Hollywood History : The producers did take a few liberties with historical fact.
Hope Spot : The "training montage" where Logue is teaching Bertie through mechanics exercises is contrasted with a speech for the opening of an industrial plant. The first couple of cuts to the speech show Bertie implementing the techniques Logue teaches him and he starts out well, but the further into the montage, the worse Bertie's speech gets until he's reduced to the same state as the beginning of the film.
Logue encourages Bertie to face his fears, only to hide in the corner when his wife unexpectedly walks in on the Queen, because he never told her he was treating a member of the royal family. Bertie tells him to stop being a coward and calmly steps out and greets Myrtle.
Logue disparages the knighted experts that Bertie has already consulted as officially-acknowledged idiots, but later asks for a knighthood himself.
I'll Take That as a Compliment : "Peculiar" is meant as an insult, but Logue seems to be genuinely proud of his nontraditional approach.
I Need a Freaking Drink : Bertie has 'something stronger' than tea after his father dies.
Insane Troll Logic : Edward VIII seems to operate on this. First, he thinks his father is deliberately feigning sick (i.e. dying) to make trouble for him and his mistress Wallis Simpson. He later thinks that Bertie's attempts to get him to actually do his duty are an attempt to take the crown from him.
I Resemble That Remark! : When Lionel won't go into the kitchen when his wife unexpectedly walks in on Queen Elizabeth, since she doesn't know he's treating a member of the royal family (see Hypocritical Humor above), Bertie says, "You're being a coward, Logue", to which Lionel replies, "Yes."
It's All About Me : David/King Edward VIII. His introduction has him voicing the opinion that his father is purposefully dying to make things difficult for him. He doesn't improve as the film goes on.
Jerkass : King Edward VIII, from what we see of him, is very rude towards Albert and more concerned with living the high life than with being a guiding voice for England. Also, he and Wallis were a pair of Nazi sympathizers, though the film only hints at this.
Jerkass Has a Point : King George V's speech to Bertie after the Christmas address. He's stern and rather tough on Bertie but is very cognizant and aware of David's shirking off, Wallis' disposition, and national affairs including Hitler and Stalin's designs.
King Edward is a borderline example, as he truly does love Wallis, and his speech for his abdication is touching. Abdicating to his brother was probably the best thing he ever did.
King George V: Bertie's speech problems are at least partly result of his abusive, controlling behavior, but he is genuinely concerned for the future of his nation and recognizes Bertie's character and bravery on his deathbed (though he never tells him so.)
Kick the Dog : The entire party at Balmoral Castle is an extended Kick the Dog on Edward's part, with a dose of Big Brother Bully to make things worse. He starts it by showing how lightly he takes to his duties as king, follows it by showing apathy toward Hitler's rising influence, and tops it all off by mocking Albert for his speech impediment just for daring to suggest he take leadership duties more seriously, to such an extent that Albert is unable to speak.
King Incognito : Elizabeth makes her first visit to Logue under an assumed name, and only reveals her and her husband's identity to get Logue to understand the gravity of the situation. Logue is quite naturally taken aback.
Kingmaker Scenario : Invoked; when Bertie reveals the Wallis Simpson scandal, Lionel pushes him to facing the fact that he might have to step up and become King. Bertie is furious, accuses him of treason and overstepping his bounds, and refuses to meet with Lionel until after his brother's abdication.
Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill (though Churchill was one too );
Last-Second Word Swap : Just before the Cluster F-Bomb drops: Logue: Do you know the F-word? Bertie: F... f... fornication? Logue: Oh, Bertie.
Lonely at the Top : Bertie, until Lionel offers himself as confidant and friend. Lionel: What are friends for? Bertie: I wouldn't know.
Love Ruins the Realm : Edward VIII's marriage plans cause his subjects no end of trouble. Most historians, however, think that this had the silver lining of allowing George VI to ascend, a much better choice for the throne in their opinion (his father agreed), given what was coming - though it wasn't so great for George himself, greatly exacerbating his health problems.
Meaningful Echo : "I'm sure you'll be splendid." Uttered first by the Archbishop, and then Myrtle Logue, and then finally at the end by the Late Queen Mother. Then Princess Margaret tells her father that he was "just splendid."
Albert gets one of these when he becomes King George VI. David also changes his name when he becomes king although it's not as meaningful and happens off screen.
For David/Edward, it's more of a case of Overly Long Name . David (full name Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor), chose his first name as his regnal name, but went by David among his family.
Might Makes Right : Bertie, in his first wartime speech, describing Nazism as "stripped of all disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right."
Mouthing the Profanity : In the climax, Lionel encourages Bertie to swear in order to get him to overcome his stutter for the speech. Since doing so live on air would be disastrous, they both mouth the words instead.
Mr. Smith : The Duchess of York first goes to meet Lionel under the alias of Mrs Johnson, causing him to commit a number of unconscious faux pas before she reveals she's a member of the royal family . Johnson was the cover name used by the Duke of York when he was a serving naval officer during World War I .
Never Trust a Trailer : The film's trailer, to convey the premise as concisely as possible, refers to Colin Firth's character as the King throughout (when in fact he spends a large part of the film as merely the Duke of York), even going so far as to redub the moment when Logue is informed who his new client really is.
For extra context in how minor David actually is, it's also notable in that his speech is very much a Graceful Loser variety and, despite his earlier putting-down, concedes his abdication with nothing but well-wishes for George VI.
George VI himself. He's a nice guy, but he's still a man of his time — and the 1920s was a time when white Australians are still looked down upon as descendants of prisoners (even though by this time they are now far outnumbered by immigrants, and Lionel himself descended from an Irish brewer who moved in 1850). Lionel: Would I lie to a prince of the realm to win twelve pennies? Albert: I have no idea what an Australian might do for that sort of money.
Prime Minister Baldwin, reporting on Wallis Simpson's activities to the King: "it's not that she's an American, that's the least of it..." It may be the least of it, but it really shouldn't be anything at all.
No Sense of Personal Space : Lionel violates the 'don't touch royals' rule, when he first meets 'Mrs Johnson', causing her to take a step backwards, and when he lays a hand on Bertie's shoulder in the park scene, causing Bertie to lose his temper. However Bertie lays his hand on Lionel's shoulder in a Friendship Moment at the end of the movie.
Odd Friendship : Pretty much the whole point of the movie. Promotional materials even played up the unique friendship of the Duke of York and an Australian-born commoner.
An Offer You Can't Refuse : The Duchess of York in her initial meeting with Lionel. Lionel: Am I considered the enemy? Elizabeth: You will be, if you remain unobliging.
Only Sane Woman : Elizabeth. It's shown as early as the first scene with the speech therapist as she points out his very antiquated methods, then contrasts immediately with both calmness to Bertie's spontaneous temper and chill but accepting incredulity to Logue's eccentric ham. It's no wonder that Bertie frequently goes to her if he's having a problem as she can usually take and temper his emotions. Also, unusually for a Helena Bonham-Carter character, she has little of the true ham many of the other major characters do (and minor; Timothy Spall's Churchill chews the scenery more often than her).
Oscar Bait : Fits the stereotype, though, as many commentators have noted, it's actually uncommon for this sort of film to win Best Picture since the 2000s (whereas it was very popular in the 1990s). It won for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.
Overt Rendezvous : Rather than discuss the matter in Lionel's office, Bertie takes him out for a walk in the park (despite it being a cold and foggy day) to reveal the impending scandal about Wallis Simpson.
Performance Anxiety : Poor Albert has a crippling fear of public speaking, entirely justified both because he's naturally shy and because his stammer makes it nearly impossible for him to do at all. Extremely unfortunately, making important speeches happens to be one of his most essential job duties, and there's no way out of it.
Porky Pig Pronunciation : King George VI has a stutter, true to his real life counterpart .
The Power of Friendship : The friendship between Albert and Lionel was strong enough to help Albert gain self-confidence and break the normal social barriers to keep Lionel as his friend, even though Lionel was a commoner.
Really Gets Around : Wallis Simpson, David's mistress. According to the Prime Minister, Scotland Yard has investigated and confirmed that she is "sharing her favors" between David and a used-car salesman. More troubling is the fact that the German ambassador, Ribbentrop, sends her flowers every day - either he is also partaking of her favors, or he believes that flattering her is the best way to get David, and England, on Germany’s side. Or both.
Reluctant Ruler : Prince Albert/King George VI. He never wanted the throne, but seeing his wastrel brother screw up and abdicate for a twice-divorced, Nazi-sympathizer girlfriend, he has no choice in the matter. Likewise, Edward (who is more of the Rebel Prince variety) completely breaks down when he is told that he will be king.
Royally Screwed Up : George VI and Edward VIII both have a dose of this, thanks to their abusive father and distant mother . The former's speech impediment and nervousness is the result of his unhappy childhood, and it's heavily implied that the latter's weak-will and hedonism is likewise a result of that upbringing.
Royals Who Actually Do Something : George VI complains that he has no power as a King, except as being an inspiration for the people such as in giving public addresses, which he has no confidence in doing because of his stammer. However, with Lionel Logue's help, he does that role marvelously. This is in contrast with his brother, David, who seems more interested in carrying on with his mistress than being a competent king. Furthermore, Bertie earned the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy , and even saw combat during World War I . The uniform he wears during the final speech is just that, the uniform he wore in the last war.
Self-Deprecation : Thankfully, Bertie isn't too depressed about his problems to not make fun of them. Lionel : Do you know any jokes? Bertie : T-..timing is n-not...my strong suit.
Serious Business : The BBC newscaster at the very beginning approaches his duties with an almost comical degree of seriousness. Apparently he prepares for each broadcast by performing vocal exercises and gargling...something...from a cut-glass decanter which is presented to him on a platter by a servant.
Sherlock Scan : Of sorts. Logue's children are able to tell what Shakespeare character he's playing with a single line of dialogue.
Lionel auditioning for Richard III . Cut to Bertie (see Foreshadowing ).
Lionel gets Bertie to read from Hamlet , "Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer. The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them?" Bertie facing his fears and condition is a theme of the film. Likewise Lionel gives the "be not afraid" speech from The Tempest .
Albert's line about purposely stammering a couple times in the climactic speech "so they'd know it was me" was taken directly out of his diaries.
The movie was changed only nine weeks before production to work details from Lionel Logue's then-recently discovered diary in.
The crew went out of their way to show a grey, dingy London and "lived in" housing, contrary to period pieces usually looking somewhat soft
Shrinking Violet : Albert, whose stammer has made him deathly afraid of having to deal with crowds or public speeches.
David has a lover (who has been twice divorced and a Nazi sympathizer), despite his family's disapproval. Albert is Happily Married .
After his father's death and was told he would be king, David's breakdown in front of his family and the doctors was taken seriously as royalty was expected to have a Stiff Upper Lip . Albert only broke down once in front of his wife in private while otherwise remaining The Stoic in front of his subjects.
During his rule, David was very carefree and more focused in pleasing Wallis Simpson, even telling Albert that "Hitler will sort [the troubles in Europe] out". After he became king, Albert would become the guiding figure for his people during World War II .
David was a bit of a Jerkass , mocking his brother's stuttering and thinking Albert wanted to take over his place, while Albert was only trying to genuinely help his brother get his act together because he didn't want to be king.
Albert was a naval officer, while David is at least an amateur pilot.
Sickeningly Sweethearts : In-Universe , David and Wallis. The rest of the royal family is visibly disgusted.
Sir Swears-a-Lot : Albert himself, used as a form of stress relief that allows him to speak more fluidly.
Socialite : Wallis Simpson's exact job title before becoming the Duchess of Windsor.
Somebody Else's Problem : Edward VIII's attitude toward rising tensions in Europe. The "somebody" in question? Adolf Hitler .
So Proud of You : The look on the former Queen's face when Albert gives the final speech.
Spare to the Throne : Albert never seriously expects to become King himself... until he does.
Spartan Sibling : When Bertie was younger, his father encouraged his brother to make fun of his stammer because he was convinced this would make it go away.
Speech-Centric Work : Well, it is a film all about speech therapy.
Speech Impediment : Albert has one, and overcoming it is the film's main premise.
Stiff Upper Lip : This is expected of royalty in particular, so much so that when Edward breaks down at the death of his father, rather than comfort him everyone looks shocked and a little embarrassed, with Albert saying, "What on earth was that?" Absolutely truth in television, too - at that time, among the royal family, his breakdown was completely unseemly. Note that when Bertie has his later on, the only person there to witness it is his wife. Also when Queen Mary is listening to King George VI, there is a glimpse of a smile, and then returns to a stiff upper lip. Upon accession to the throne Bertie did have a breakdown in real life, it was in front of the Queen Dowager (Queen Mary, his mother), not his wife.
Stutter Stop : Logue discovers that Bertie's speech impediment is reduced when he is singing, or swearing, or just very angry.
Creator Career Self-Deprecation : This is a line of dialogue spoken by actors in a movie.
Taught by Experience : Lionel became a speech therapist by treating shell-shocked World War I veterans and learning on the job; no courses existed then and he had to make it up as he went along.
That Came Out Wrong : When Lionel's wife comes home unexpectedly while he's meeting with the King, and he panics about her reaction. "I haven't told her about us."
There Are No Therapists : Or rather, there were none. Lionel cut his therapeutic teeth treating the speech disorders of shell-shocked World War I veterans , and quickly figured out that what they needed most desperately was a friendly ear. And as it turns out, Bertie had never had anyone to tell about the miserable childhood that fostered his stutter, including the fact that it took his parents three years to notice that the nanny was starving him. note Unfortunately Truth in Television , although she had an unhealthy attachment to David and it was him , not Bertie, whom she would pinch before taking him to see his parents, so he'd be given back to her. Bertie she simply gave bottles to under rough conditions, leading to his lifelong very poor digestion.
Queen Elizabeth lets Mrs. Logue know how to address her and points out it's "Ma'am" as in "ham", not "Malm" as in "palm" when addressing her.
Invoked by Prince Albert to Lionel to call him "His Royal Highness". Defied by Lionel, who calls him "Bertie" instead.
This Is Gonna Suck : During the opening scene, shots can be seen of various dignitaries and people in the crowd realising exactly what they're in for during Bertie's agonising attempt at delivering the closing address.
This Is My Chair : Lionel riles George up by having the audacity to sit in St Edward's Chair, which is meant only for monarchs when they are being crowned. And not just sitting on it, but lying on it sideways like it was a lounge chair.
Throw It In! : In-Universe . After George's speech at the end, Lionel says that he still stammered on the W. George replies that he had to throw in a few so that the people knew it was still him.
Title Drop : Right before the last scene, in reference to the first wartime speech by Bertie (now George VI).
Training Montage : Numerous reviews have compared the film to a sports movie like Rocky , except the sport is public speaking. Oddly enough, there's only two such montages in here. Director Tom Hooper had to be pushed to insert them by Geoffrey Rush, as he doesn't like the montage as a film device in the least. The first such sequence may be an Anti -training montage; Albert goes through a ton of humiliating exercises, juxtaposed with his latest speech in which he still sounds horrid. Of course, that's exactly what Lionel wants , since his point is that mechanics alone won't fix Albert.
Trickster Mentor : Logue. At some points, he flouts social mores and deliberately riles Bertie up to make a point. The pivotal scene where Bertie expresses himself without trouble started with Lionel lounging in St Edward's chair.
Uncertified Expert : Bertie always refers to Logue as "Doctor" (despite Logue trying to get him to call him "Lionel") until he learns that Logue isn't actually a doctor. He's furious at the deception, although Logue points out he never referred to himself as a doctor, he's just used to helping people with speech problems.
The Unfavorite : Albert was this as a child, as both his father and his nanny preferred his brother (at first, anyway.) His stuttering didn't help very much.
"Well Done, Son" Guy : George V was a bit of a Jerkass to his kids when they were young, leaving them feeling a bit alienated from him. Unlike most instances of this, by the time the story takes place, George V actually does approve of the adult Albert/George VI (though still frustrated by his speech problems), certainly compared to his older brother, but past experiences mean that Albert doesn't think he's sincere. In real life he expressed preference for Albert and his daughter Elizabeth (who was 9 years old at the time) over Edward for the throne toward the end of his life. His exact words were, "I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." George V's last words were acknowledgments of Bertie as superior to his brother, which he never actually told Bertie.
What Happened to the Mouse? : During the film we see several speeches of Albert where he just can't get the words out. Then it cuts to the next scene. What happened? Did he give the speech? Did he just leave? Did he just stand there for 20 minutes?
"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue : A very short one that notes Bertie and Lionel remained friends for the rest of their lives.
The Wicked Stage : King George V remarks on this when discussing the importance of radio with Bertie after giving his 1934 Christmas address. The king tells Bertie to try reading the speech himself, and when Bertie refuses, he replies: "This devilish device will change everything if you don't. In the past, all a king had to do was look respectable in uniform and not fall off his horse. Now we must invade people's homes and ingratiate ourselves with them. This family's been reduced to those lowest, basest of all creatures. We've become actors ."
Young Future Famous People : George VI's daughter Elizabeth definitely counts. While she's mostly a background character during the film, her eventual ascendance is highlighted when Lionel tells Albert that if he takes the throne Elizabeth will become Queen. Albert, who is in firm "I don't want to be king" mode right now, tells him to put such silly thoughts out of his head .

Lionel : Forget everything else, and just say it to me.

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The king's speech.

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30 Facts About The Movie The King’s Speech

Written by Arlene Steelman

Modified & Updated: 23 May 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

30-facts-about-the-movie-the-kings-speech

The King’s Speech is a critically acclaimed film that has captivated audiences since its release. Directed by Tom Hooper, this historical drama takes us on a journey through the life of King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II, as he struggles with a debilitating stammer. The movie explores the unlikely friendship between the reluctant monarch and his eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

With its stellar cast, including Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter , The King’s Speech has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards. Beyond the captivating performances, the film offers a compelling story filled with emotional depth and historical significance. In this article, we delve into 30 fascinating facts about the making of The King’s Speech, shedding light on its production, casting decisions, and its impact on audiences worldwide.

Key Takeaways:

The King’s Speech is a movie based on the true story of King George VI’s struggle with a speech impediment. It won four Academy Awards and highlighted the importance of effective communication and perseverance.
The film’s success sparked conversations about speech disorders and inspired audiences worldwide with its powerful portrayal of courage and determination.

Box Office Success

The King’s Speech was a critically acclaimed film that also performed well at the box office, grossing over $400 million worldwide.

Historical Accuracy

The movie portrays the true story of King George VI’s struggle with a speech impediment and his efforts to overcome it.

Oscar-Winning Performances

The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Colin Firth, and Best Original Screenplay.

Colin Firth’s Preparation

Colin Firth spent months working with a speech therapist to accurately portray King George VI’s stammer.

Geoffrey Rush’s Role

Geoffrey Rush played the role of Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helped King George VI overcome his speech impediment.

Historical Significance

The movie sheds light on the importance of effective communication and how speech can impact leadership and self-confidence.

Multiple Nominations

The King’s Speech received a total of 12 nominations at the Academy Awards, the most of any film that year.

Supporting Cast

The film also features stellar performances from Helena Bonham Carter, who played Queen Elizabeth, and Guy Pearce , who portrayed King Edward VIII.

Royal Approval

The Queen Mother, who was King George VI’s wife, reportedly gave her endorsement for the film.

Accents and Dialects

The actors underwent extensive training to master the British accents and dialects of the time period.

Emotional Journey

The movie takes viewers on an emotional journey as they witness King George VI’s struggle and eventual triumph.

Historical Context

The film is set against the backdrop of the abdication crisis of 1936, when King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.

Collaboration

The King’s Speech was a collaborative effort between British and Australian filmmakers, showcasing the talent from both countries.

Real Speech Recordings

The filmmakers used actual recordings of King George VI’s speeches to ensure accuracy in the movie.

Costume Design

The film’s costume designer , Jenny Beavan, won an Academy Award for her work in recreating the fashion of the 1930s.

Film Locations

The King’s Speech was primarily filmed in England and Scotland, adding to the authenticity of the period setting .

Critical Acclaim

The movie was praised by critics for its performances, screenplay, and historical accuracy.

Audience Response

The King’s Speech resonated with audiences worldwide, connecting on a human level with its themes of perseverance and self-belief.

The movie has left a lasting impact on the film industry, inspiring others to tell stories of triumph over adversity.

International Success

The King’s Speech was not only a hit in English-speaking countries but also gained popularity in international markets .

The film’s score, composed by Alexandre Desplat, received critical acclaim and added depth to the storytelling.

Positive Reviews

The King’s Speech holds a high rating on review aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes, with praise for its performances and storytelling.

The movie received a rating of 12A in the United Kingdom, making it suitable for a wide range of audiences.

Cultural Impact

The King’s Speech sparked conversations about speech disorders and increased awareness of the challenges faced by those who stammer.

Educational Value

The film has been used as a teaching tool in various educational institutions to explore topics such as leadership, communication, and overcoming obstacles .

Film Adaptation

The movie is based on a stage play of the same name, which was also highly acclaimed.

International Accolades

In addition to the Academy Awards, The King’s Speech received numerous accolades from film festivals around the world.

Inspirational Story

The film serves as a reminder that anyone, regardless of their status or background, can overcome personal challenges and achieve greatness.

Historical Detail

The King’s Speech captures the essence of the time period, immersing viewers in the world of British royalty during a pivotal point in history.

Lasting Legacy

The King’s Speech will continue to be remembered as a powerful and touching portrayal of courage and determination.

In conclusion, The King’s Speech is a remarkable film that captivates audiences with its gripping story and exceptional performances. Through its portrayal of King George VI’s struggle to overcome his speech impediment, the movie showcases the power of determination and the importance of finding one’s voice. With a brilliant cast led by Colin Firth , Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech earned critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards. The film’s masterful direction, compelling script, and stunning production design make it a must-watch for any movie enthusiast. Whether you’re a fan of historical dramas, inspiring stories, or top-notch acting, The King’s Speech is sure to captivate and leave a lasting impression.

1. Who directed The King’s Speech?

The King’s Speech was directed by Tom Hooper .

2. Is The King’s Speech based on a true story?

Yes, The King’s Speech is based on the true story of King George VI of the United Kingdom and his struggle with a speech impediment.

3. How many Academy Awards did The King’s Speech win?

The King’s Speech won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Original Screenplay.

4. Who played King George VI in the movie?

Colin Firth portrayed King George VI in The King’s Speech.

5. What is the significance of the title “The King’s Speech”?

The title refers to the pivotal speech that King George VI delivers to inspire and rally the British people during World War II .

6. What impact did The King’s Speech have on raising awareness about speech impediments?

The movie shed light on the struggles faced by people with speech impediments and helped raise awareness about the importance of empathy and understanding towards individuals dealing with such challenges.

7. Was the stuttering portrayed accurately in the movie?

Geoffrey Rush worked closely with speech experts to accurately portray the challenges faced by those with speech impediments. The film’s depiction of stuttering was highly praised for its authenticity.

8. Are there any other notable performances in The King’s Speech?

In addition to Colin Firth’s memorable portrayal of King George VI, Geoffrey Rush’s performance as Lionel Logue, the speech therapist, and Helena Bonham Carter’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth were also highly praised by audiences and critics alike.

9. What awards did The King’s Speech receive?

Aside from its Academy Awards, The King’s Speech also received numerous other accolades, including multiple BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

10. Can I watch The King’s Speech online?

Yes, The King’s Speech is available for streaming on various platforms, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

If you enjoyed learning about "The King's Speech," why not explore other captivating topics? Discover the powerful historical drama "The Passion of Joan of Arc," which tells the story of a French heroine. Delve into the fascinating world of the British monarchy with intriguing facts about the Queen Victoria Statue. And for a touching tale of perseverance, read about country music legend Mel Tillis, who overcame a speech impediment to achieve great success. Each of these subjects offers a unique and engaging perspective that will leave you informed and inspired.

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Film Education - Resources, Training, Events

The King's Speech

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Making a Speech

The King's Speech tells the story of King George VI (Bertie) who reluctantly assumed the throne after his brother abdicated. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, he engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.

A special schools' preview screening of The King's Speech , followed by a Q&A session with the film's director Tom Hooper and lead actor Colin Firth, was held in London in December 2010. This site features audio files from the event alongside a curriculum-linked study guide for English and Media at Key Stage 4 (11-16). Together, these resources offer engaging content to enrich study of this film and related topics.

(MUSIC STARTS)

TEXT: MOMENTUM PICTURES

QUEEN ELIZABETH: My husband is, um, well he’s required to speak publicly.

KING GEORGE VI: I have received…the (STAMMERS)…the…the

LIONEL LOGUE: Perhaps he should change jobs

QUEEN ELIZABETH: He can’t. And what if my husband were the Duke of York?

LIONEL LOGUE: Forgive me your…

QUEEN ELIZABETH: Royal Highness.

LIONEL LOGUE: Royal Highness.

TEXT: BASED ON THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY

QUEEN ELIZABETH: My husband has seen everyone, to no avail.

DR. BLANDINE BENTHAM: Annunciate!

LIONEL LOGUE: He hasn’t seen me.

LIONEL LOGUE: Who was your earliest memory?

KING GEORGE VI: I’m not here to discuss personal matters.

LIONEL LOGUE: Why are you here then?

KING GEORGE VI: (SHOUTS) Because I bloody well stammer!

LIONEL LOGUE: Do you know any jokes?

KING GEORGE VI: Timing isn’t my strong suit.

LIONEL LOGUE: (LAUGHS)

QUEEN ELIZABETH: Your methods are unorthodox and controversial.

(LIONEL LOGUE AND KING GEORGE VI SHAKE THEIR HEADS WHILE MAKING ‘AHHH’ SOUNDS)

LIONEL LOGUE: Up comes her Royal Highness

QUEEN ELIZABETH: It’s actually quite good fun.

TEXT: WHEN ABDICATION THREATENED THE THRONE

KING GEORGE VI: My brother is infatuated with a woman who has been married twice… Wallace Simpson.

TEXT: AND THE WORLD WENT TO WAR

(TELEVISION PLAYS A CLIP OF HITLER GIVING A SPEECH)

TEXT: A RELUCTANT PRINCE WOULD BECOME KING

KING GEORGE VI: (CRYING) I’m not a King! I’m a Naval Officer.

(SIRENS SOUND OUT IN THE STREET)

KING GEORGE VI: The nation believes that when I speak, I speak for them. Well I can’t speak.

LIONEL LOGUE: Why should I waste my time listening?

KING GEORGE VI: (SHOUTS) Because I have a voice!

LIONEL LOGUE: Yes you do.

TEXT: ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE // COLIN FIRTH

TEXT: ACADEMY AWARD® WINNER // GEOFFREY RUSH

TEXT: ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE // HELENA BONHAM CARTER

QUEEN ELIZABETH: It’s time

LIONEL LOGUE: Your first wartime speech

TEXT: SOME MEN ARE BORN GREAT

KING GEORGE VI: However this turns out I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done.

TEXT: OTHERS HAVE GREATNESS THRUST UPON THEM

TEXT: THE KING’S SPEECH

TEXT: REVIEWS

TEXT: CREDITS

END OF TRAILER

Explication de Film

Le discours d’un roi.

Tom Hooper, 2010

LE COMMENTAIRE

On parle souvent de l’angoisse de la page blanche pour un auteur. Prenons un moment ici pour regarder ce micro de la manière dont le Duc d’York le regarde. Mesurons toute la panique que ce simple micro peut provoquer chez celui qui est quand même sur le point de devenir Roi d’Angleterre. Sentons l’attente de la foule invisible de l’autre côté. Et au moment où le bouton rouge se met à clignoter, essayons nous aussi de ne pas bafouiller devant ce micro, à défaut de le croquer

Le souverain doit surmonter ses angoisses et assumer son rang.

Albert est le fils de George V (le mec de la station de métro sur la ligne 1). Il est aussi bègue, ce qui est un vrai problème pour quiconque doit prendre la parole en public et faire étalage de son autorité. Albert essaie désespérément de corriger ce défaut gênant, sans succès. Puis il va faire la rencontre de Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) un orthophoniste aux méthodes peu orthodoxes trouvé dans les Yellow Pages. Ce dernier va débloquer Bertie grâce à de savantes techniques de prononciation mais surtout grâce à un vrai travail d’écoute et de psychologie.

Lorsque le roi George meurt et que son fils Édouard (Guy Pearce) se défile, c’est son frère Albert qui se retrouve catapulté au pouvoir malgré lui.

I’m a naval officer, I’m not a king.

La fin des années 30 n’est pas de tout repos. Les envies de Pologne d’Hitler contraignent l’Angleterre à déclarer la guerre à l’Allemagne et vont forcer Albert à flamber sur le beat en se fendant d’un discours qui marquera l’histoire.

Albert dont les hésitations embarrassent une nation entière saura trouver la ressource pour passer ce parcours d’obstacles la tête haute et devenir un leader à la hauteur de sa couronne, grâce à Logue.

L’EXPLICATION

Le Discours d’un Roi , c’est réussir à se libérer des charlatans.

Le monde est à la merci des tocards, comme les nombreux médecins pourtant anoblis par le Roi lui-même, et pourtant incapables de traiter son bégaiement.

I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.

My physicians said it relaxes the, the, the throat.

They are idiots.

They have all been knighted.

Albert est prisonnier de ces crapules comme on peut parfois l’être avec son dentiste ou son garagiste. Il faut parfois savoir regarder au delà du diplôme ou du titre pour aller chercher la compétence.

The King’s Speech marque l’éclosion d’un chef. Au moment où le sort du monde peut basculer, tout se joue souvent sur un homme, un guide, un capitaine. Un homme n’est pourtant pas grand chose face aux enjeux qui le dépassent. Néanmoins il peut avoir un pouvoir insoupçonné et son influence peut inspirer des populations entières. Une seule voix peut résonner dans bien des oreilles. Alors bonjour la pression.

La voix ne doit pas trembler. Elle ne peut pas trembler. Sinon on se retrouve un peu comme Benzema face à l’Allemagne juste après avoir raté son duel face à Neuer. Ce Benzema que toute l’équipe a cherché comme le messie n’a pas été au rendez-vous là où des années avant lui, Zidane avait su coller deux coups de tête aux Brésiliens. Bertie doit prendre ses responsabilités et à l’inverse de son frère, il ne peut pas abandonner la nation.

The King’s Speech parle de ce moment charnière dans la vie qui voit la larve se transformer en papillon. Benzema pour en revenir à lui est encore à l’état de larve. Albert va devoir devenir Georges et endosser la charge de devoir guider une nation toute entière.

Tous ces discours sont autant de moments de vérité, des occasions de prouver sa valeur au monde. Albert pourra toujours se rassurer en se rappelant que le roi ne décide de rien après tout, il ne fait que ce que le peuple souhaite qu’il fasse. Il peut remercier le ciel que Patrick Sébastien n’ait pas été numéro 1 des charts anglais de l’époque auquel cas le peuple lui aurait peut-être demandé de faire tourner les serviettes.

The King’s Speech c’est le miracle permis par la rencontre entre Albert et les Anglais mais surtout par la rencontre plus inattendue entre un roi et un modeste orthophoniste australien. Logue est un acteur raté dont même sa femme ignore le talent.

Le Roi a besoin de quelqu’un qui le traite enfin comme une personne, pour sortir de la cage dans laquelle son père l’a enfermé et assumer enfin son rang. Il a besoin d’un ami avec lequel il pourra partager une faiblesse que sa position ne lui autorise pas. Pas de jugement. Dans le cabinet de Logue il n’y a ni gauchers ni genoux cagneux. Le Roi va pouvoir chanter et jurer. Il va pouvoir se livrer. Car pour parler, il faut d’abord réussir à parler de soi.

Logue va aussi désacraliser l’exercice. Albert est tétanisé par le poids de la responsabilité. Il se sent l’héritier d’un Empire bien trop lourd à porter. Son frère lui-même s’est défilé devant la tâche. Pour aider Albert à rentrer dans son costume, Logue n’hésitera pas à écorner les symboles.

Get up! You can’t sit here! GET UP!

Why not? It’s a chair.

No, it… That is not a chair, that is, that is Saint Edward’s chair!

Quand Albert prend conscience qu’il n’est qu’un homme parmi d’autres et qu’il peut réciter son discours comme il le réciterait à un ami, il dépasse son angoisse. C’est paradoxalement en se pensant comme un homme comme les autres qu’il arrive à être un homme hors du commun.

Il peut enfin jouer son rôle. Rentrer enfin dans son costume. Sa voix devient claire. Son ton est ferme. Le rythme est impeccable. Dommage pour Bernie que l’histoire se rappelle du discours d’un autre bègue .

Le Roi aura eu besoin d’un orthophoniste sans diplôme, d’un comédien sans gloire. L’Angleterre toute puissante aura eu besoin de l’Australie, ce pays fondé par les repris de justice que la Couronne ne voulait plus. L’Angleterre peut-elle se passer de l’Europe (cf This is England )?

Cette explication de film n’engage que son auteur.

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Hollywood style: costumes of ‘the king’s speech’.

How designer Jenny Beavan re-created royal-worthy costumes on a near-pauper budget

By Leslie Bruce

Leslie Bruce

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Hollywood Style: Costumes of 'The King's Speech'

During The King’s Speech , Helena Bonham Carter was also filming the final Harry Potter installments.

With a resume boasting more than 50 films, eight Oscar nominations and one Oscar win, it’s no surprise costume designer Jenny Beavan was director Tom Hooper’ s go-to choice for his period drama The King’s Speech . The film, starring Colin Firth as stuttering monarch King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his steadfast wife, Queen Elizabeth II, is set in 1930s, pre-war England.

Whether spending her Saturday afternoons devouring racks of 19th century gowns at Cosprop — the famed costume shop in her native London — or fitting Jude Law into a slightly binding tweed suit for next year’s Sherlock Holmes sequel, Beavan is one of the film industry’s most inspired, and fastest-working, designers. “We had five-and-a-half weeks to prep for filming The King’s Speech , and all my time was spent wrangling clothes,” she says.

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