The King’s Speech

[biggins]

Had missed this twice at free screenings as the reel never turned up in the bad weather so pleased to see it this morning without p*ying as my friend had two free cineworld tickets. Went to the 11.30am screening thinking it would be almost empty but surprised to find it was about 40% full.

Thoroughly enjoyed it and the two hours passed very quickly. It has everything, history, good story and a few humorous moments to keep it entertaining. 10/10

[Ms Thrifty]

Finally saw this yesterday - my first film of 2011, a whole shameful 11 days in - the deprivation! But despite there having been no free previews in my area I was still able to see it free with my Clubcard voucher.

I went to the earliest performance but as some others have found, this was unusually well-attended. And what a lovely audience! It reminded me of when I went to an Odeon "Senior Screen" performance, albeit without the free tea and biscuits this time. I must easily have been the youngest there; there was no-one kicking the seats, fiddling with mobiles or eating noisy or smelly food and once the film itself started, everyone was wonderfully still, quiet and attentive - bliss!

As for the film itself, of course I enjoyed it and it's definitely another solid Brit-flick. And I know it's meant to be about Bertie and his stammering, but quite honestly, nearly all the other characters seemed to me far more fascinating - I'd have loved to see more of any of them and less of him!

[weirdfilms33]

is this one really that good? i mean everyone is raving about this, even the tv doc wrote an article about how brilliant this film is, not only its a great story, but it brings in a huge amount of awareness!

I couldn't really think of anyone that wouldn't like it. Go see it.

[AYBG]

6/10

Laura Mulvey famously once wrote, "It is said that analysing pleasure or beauty annihilates it. That is the intention of this article."

Unfortunately it only takes a cursory glance at what's supplying the (somewhat limited) pleasures of The King's Speech to realise how poorly realised they are. I was fully aware going in that, as a heritage drama, it would have an over-reliance on period setting and performance. Well, that's only natural - I can accept it and I can even appreciate it if employed thoughtfully. But, alas, ten godawful minutes in, very little was communicated to the audience to do with character. Instead, there was a heavy emphasis of "Look at this period detail! Now look at this!", with over-acting all round. Direction and photography-wise, well, the most I can say is that they tried to do something more interesting than the typical shot-reverse shot all the way through. But, again, very little was conveyed to do with character so it came across as unsubtle, uninspired and unbalanced. Under these circumstances, the photography was nothing short of horrific.

So, needless to say I didn't enjoy the first ten minutes, but when it reached the montage sequence (yes, it resorted to one early, early on, but it was actually rather good) things started to liven up a little. The direction and photography got more restrained and you could say it looked pretty, if you like. Alas, playing the "Look! He's better at speaking!" card too early caused no end of problems in a film whose protagonist we're never really given any reason to root for (only the bare minimum, and even that was somewhat forced). The rest of the film played out in (repetitive) motions, with half-hearted attempts to introduce antagonists in the fold. There was minor amusement along the way, but for a supposedly sophisticated film it was immature as F-F-FF-f**k. Thank god for Firth and Rush. Firth wasn't great, but he helped keep things vaguely entertaining at times. Rush, meanwhile, played an actually likeable character, cutting through the shit. Tellingly, it was in Rush's absence that the film was somniferous.

There may have been a genuinely inspirational tale to be told here, but this wasn't it. All we got was prince with speech impediment becomes monarch with less of one, and an awful lot of applause to cap off something that was eternally hindered by its shoddy, shoddy foundations.

I'm sure many of you know I shot down this film long before seeing it, after it was suggested as an awards rival to The Social Network. But honestly, I went in really wanting to like this one. Alas, in terms of enjoyment, I would've given this a 2/10, but it was just about passable, a few key shades over mediocre, in the grand scheme of things. But if this is the best British cinema has to offer, God help us all.

[cheekyweelassie]

I saw this in the Sky Screen at the o2 Cineworld in Greenwich. The screen was massive and I was excited. Unfortunately they had 'technical difficulties' and the film started 40 minutes late. Then when it did start the sound was awful - a constant tinny echo. And that lasted for the whole film.
That spoilt my enjoyment of the cinema experience, but didn't interfere with me loving the film.
It is so nice to go to a screening with people of all generations, some of whom may not go to the cinema very often but have heard about a film from good reviews. I was unable to steer clear of the hype surrounding this, but it was hardly a cliffhanger or twisty plot so I don't think it mattered.
I thought Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were fantastic. The only performances that didn't work for me were Guy Pearce and Timothy Spall.
I liked the comic touches, and I enjoyed seeing Bertie as a normal-ish father and husband. The rest of the time was an interesting portrayal of the utter bonkersness of our monarchy. I liked how this film was respectful of how people during WWII felt about the royal family but was not overtly royalist in that there were plenty of moments when the rules and behaviour seemed ridiculous.
I think everyone would root for Bertie, as a person with a troubled childhood and an adult with an impediment and the weight of expectation upon him. The fact that he was king gives the film a delicious excuse for sumptuous locations and pageantry and a rich background of history and celebrity.
I would happily have (gasp) pa*d to see this!
10/10

[akh43]

Watched this today for free at Didsbury with one of the coupons from the Times last week, given to me by a friend. I went for the 12.30 screening, almost straight after Chalet Girl and could not believe how busy the cinema was had to queue about 10 mins just to get a ticket!!! Not used to queuing nowadays, got in the habit of justing walking upstairs. I was also asked where I wanted to sit, another thing I am not used to - I didn't realise they still allocated seats.

I really enjoyed this film, lived upto my expectations and would give it 9/10, great cast and acting all around.

My one bad point from this screening was nothing to do with the film, but having to endure about 15 minutes of adverts, then trailers before the film started. Forgot how long these go on for before the film as not used to it, I dont mind a few trailers, but are all these adverts really needed. If I had not already been in the cinema and had it not been chucking it down outside, I may have gone for something to eat, and wish I had as I would have had time.

[elski]

Who wants tickets to watch The King’s Speech tomorrow night followed by a Q&A with COLIN FIRTH & TOM HOOPER? Just RT to win!

[Crowman]

I liked it, though I think it is Geoffrey Rush`s performance which should be getting praise from the media, rather than Colin Firth`s.

And, I would just like to say a big `Thank you` to the old lady sitting a few seats along from me in the cinema. Lighting up the screen of your mobile phone to check the time really increased my enjoyment of the movie.

[Ms Thrifty]

I agree that Colin Firth will unfortunately divert attention from other equally deserving cast members. However, he seems now to have joined the ranks of the national treasures so no-one dares say a word against him. Don't get me wrong; I have no wish to criticise him other than for being (a) possibly slightly over-exposed lately and (b) too obviously Colin Firth and therefore no longer credible as whoever he's supposed to be playing.

[raj101]

good film, it manages to make you feel sympathy for an utter proto-emo twat (a royal).


carter back doing her upper class girl thing for once, and spot on performances from firth and rush.