The King's Speech (2010): Pretentious film that's definitely a must see

Every once in while, there comes a film that not only offers an engagingly deep character driven story, it also touches the heart of it's audience. "The King's Speech" may not be as commercially glamorous as the other films out there, but it has something most of them lack. A little something that can be referred to as substance. Set in 1939, Nazi Germany was coming into power, and England was nation that looked to be engulfed in turmoil, as King George V (Michael Gambon) had recently died; while his eldest son, King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), was disgraced in the eyes of the public for marrying a commoner. Who else is left to lead England into perhaps arguably the greatest war in world history? None other than his other son, Prince Albert, who later becomes known as King George VI (Colin Firth). However, there's only one problem.

Prince Albert suffers from a stammering speech impediment; especially when he's required to do a lot of public speaking before his subjects. This leads him to seek help from an Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), who uses rather unorthodox methods to help eliminate his problem.

In hindsight though, some people are probably going to say this film is nothing more than a bunch of overly pretentious crap designed only to appease film critics. However, you'd be wrong to assume that. As I stated earlier, "The King's Speech" may lack a lot in style when it comes to cinema, but it certainly contains a lot of substance for those yearning for something more than that. The plot synopsis I just described may make it seem like nothing more than a pretentious story about some speech therapist making a King comfortable enough to talk in front of a microphone, but there's more to the story than that.

As Lionel eloquently suggests, the Prince's speech impediment is really just the surface of his troubles; masking a series of psychological issues pertaining to self confidence, as Albert must learn to find his own voice. Prince Albert was a man that never wanted to be King originally, and he could never stand up for himself whenever he confronted his father or his elder brother. However, with Lionel's help, Prince Albert embarks on a emotional journey to not only find that hidden voice within himself, but a underlining strength he never knew he had.

Without a doubt, "The King's Speech" is a deep thought provoking film about one man's ascension to overcome his social insecurities to rise up to become the great man he was destined to be.

Colin Firth, does a wonderful job orchestrating his role to perfection. Allowing the viewer to see the transgression, as he goes from a stammering Prince to showing signs of potentially becoming the great leader he was always born to be. As for Geoffrey Rush, he was simply brilliant in his performance as well, as he brings a sense of eccentric delight to this otherwise dramatic film that helps brings Prince Albert that much closer to discovering the hidden strength he has within himself. Let's not forget Helena Bonham Carter, who was also delightful in her role as well. As she literally goes from conniving evil b**** from the Harry Potter series, to a sweet and supportive wife so convincingly that you'll have to see it to believe it.

Then there's Tom Hooper, who seemingly orchestrates this film like a pro. He not only manages to create a subtle story about friendship, he also manages to portray a powerful emotional story that will leave audiences begging for more.

Overall, I'd have to give "The King's Speech" a three and a half out of four. Sadly, I don't think everyone would like this movie, unless your really into dramatic films. However, if your looking for a truly emotionally driven film that sticks it right to the heart of it's audience, then look no further than this movie. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.