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The King's Speech
The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie 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 into war.
2010 · Directed by Tom Hooper · 118 min · Drama · History · Screenplay in the scene database · 8 frames
Tagline
Find your voice.
Plot
At the official closing of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, Prince Albert "Bertie", Duke of York, the second son of King George V, addresses the crowd with a strong stammer. His search for treatment has been discouraging, but his wife, Elizabeth, persuades him to see Australian-born Lionel Logue, a speech defects therapist. During their first session, Lionel has Bertie recite Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy while listening to classical music over a pair of headphones. Bertie is frustrated, but Lionel gives him the acetate recording of the reading to take home with him.
After George V broadcasts his 1934 Royal Christmas Message, he explains to Bertie that the wireless will play a significant part in the role of the royal family, allowing them to enter the homes of the people. As Bertie's elder brother, the Prince of Wales (known to his family as David), has been neglecting his responsibilities, Bertie's training in using the wireless has become necessary. An attempt at reading the message himself is a failure. However, Bertie plays the recording Lionel gave him that night and is astonished at the lack of stutter. He returns for daily treatments to overcome the physical and psychological roots of his stutter.
George V dies in 1936. David ascends the throne as King Edward VIII. A constitutional crisis arises with Edward over a prospective marriage with twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. Edward, as the supreme governor of the Church of England, cannot marry her, even if her second divorce goes through, as both of her former husbands are still alive.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: David Seidler
- Cinematography: Danny Cohen
- Edited by: Tariq Anwar
- Music: Alexandre Desplat
- Production design: Eve Stewart
- Produced by: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
Cast
- Colin Firth as King George VI
- Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue
- Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth
- Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII
- Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill
- Michael Gambon as King George V
- Jennifer Ehle as Myrtle Logue
- Derek Jacobi as Archbishop Cosmo Lang
- Freya Wilson as Princess Elizabeth
- Ramona Marquez as Princess Margaret
Production
- Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council, Momentum Pictures, Aegis Film Fund
- Budget: $15,000,000
- Box office: $414,211,549
- Themes: great britain, world war ii, marriage, stutter, monarchy, palace, radio, radio transmission, royal family, biography
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