The establishing shot in The Kings Speech was very powerful, and stood out a lot to me. The microphone predominantly in the forefront of the shot, with action going on in the background, made it clear that the microphone was an important symbol. The time period, 1925, was also set by the phrase that played at the very beginning of the film.
There were very interesting camera angles used in this film, which made it stand out a lot to me. The was that the microphone was typically the focus of the shot whenever it was present, with the action and people behind it, made the point of the film stand out a lot. The speeches were the entire purpose of the film, and the microphone personified that. The sharp jumps from shot to shot also stood out, because instead of a smooth panning transition from person to person, the camera would sharply jump from face to face.
The story line was very different from others, and was very powerful. Bertie, played by Colin Firth, was the second son of George V and was never intended to be the King, which was a good thing because he had a stutter that greatly handicapped him. His wife, Elizabeth, tried to help him by hiring multiple speech coaches, but nothing seemed to help Bertie. It wasn't until Lionel was introduced that there was a change in his speech. Bertie's brother, however, decided that he didn't want to be King, which left Bertie to become King George VI. One of the most moving scenes in the film was when Bertie had to give his speech on the eve of World War II, which is what the film had been building up to the entire time. There were many scenes that i felt uncomfortable during though, such as the first speech scene when Bertie could not even formulate words during his speech because his stutter was so horrible. I could not even imagine how embarrassing it would be.
Colin Firth was amazing in his role as George VI. I believed him wholeheartedly, because you could really feel his pain as he struggled though his speech problem, while simultaneously trying to cope with becoming the King of England. Helena Bonham Carter also did an outstanding job of playing Elizabeth, because it felt like she was really there supporting her husband through his struggles.
The music was one of the most convincing parts of the film, because every scene had the perfect soundtrack. For the more dramatic scenes, the gradual swelling of music up to the climax was very moving, and for the more emotional scenes, the relaxed music did a great job. One of the most impressive musical accompaniments in the film was the Beethoven that joined in the scene where Bertie had to give a speech on the eve of World War II.
I would describe the genre of this film as a drama. Although there were a few comical moments, the entire film focused on Bertie's dramatic and sometimes painful struggle to get over his disability.
From this film I derived the message that it is possible to improve yourself and overcome obstacles that stand in your way, if you really try hard enough and persevere.
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