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Sunday, February 27, 2011

THE KING'S SPEECH

Directed by Tom Hooper
Starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Claire Bloom, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Ehle, Eve Best

The big favorite for the 2011 Academy Awards had to be seen before the big event itself (later today in fact) and even though my personal favorite, Inception may not win the statues it so rightfully deserves, it's a relief to know that should it fall in the wake of The King's Speech, it has still lost to a great effort.

 The film depicts the sudden rise to power of King George VI of Britain (Firth) after his brother abdicates. The King has a dreaded stammer and his Queen (Carter) enlists the help of an unorthodox speech therapist by the name of Lionel Logue (Rush). The two men get off to a bad start, but as his stammer gets worse, the King begins to trust Logue and their dawning friendship starts to take shape.

 The King's Speech is exactly the kind of film which the Academy favors. It has a broad canvas, essential themes and the feel of greatness. Firth and Rush are both up for statues and I'd be pleased to see either one of them as a winner, though as powerful and magnificent as Firth's interpretation of the King is, it's Rush's Lionel Logue who really stands out from the film with his unconventional treatments and personality. Also, director Hooper (The Damned United) is man of whom we can expect many great films in the future. I hope. A special mention must go out to the photography of the film which too is unconventional to say the least. At times, the characters are placed within the frame in very weird compositions and occasionally with lots of dead space above their heads which really creates a very unique look. It's very weird if you pay attention to it, but surprisingly it works well. Another traditional method questioned with great success.

KITEYTETTYNÄ SINIVALKOISILLE
Kuninkaan Puhe on loistava leffa, jos haluaa keskittyä taidolla kirjoitettuun ja etenkin upeasti näyteltyyn aikuisten draamaan. Historiallisesti hyvinkin paikkansa pitävä leffa on suuri suosikki tänään yöllä pidettävässä Oscar-gaalassa ja vaikka itse kampanjoinkin Inceptionin puolesta, on mukava tietää että jos kyseinen leffa ottaa takkiin Kuninkaan Puheen hallitessa, niin kilpailijakin on patsaittensa arvoinen. Ja sitä se on. Erityinen maininta pitää vielä antaa filmin erittäin eriskummallisesta kuvauksesta, sillä kuvakompositioiden kanssa on rikottu "sääntöjä" ja ajateltu laatikon ulkopuolelta. Lopputulos on erikoisen näköinen, mutta onnistunut.

The King's Speech at IMDb

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