Speaking about "Speech"

Last Wednesday, CineVerse couldn't stop talking about "The King's Speech," the 2011 Best Picture Oscar winner that left many a viewer, well, speechless. Highlights of that discussion are as follows:

WHAT IS THE SECRET TO THIS FILM’S SUCCESS? WHAT MAKES IT WORK AS WELL AS IT DOES?

·       It’s a period piece and costume drama like we’ve seen before, but it’s different:

o   it demystifies the monarchy by bringing us into the private, warts and all life of a member of the royal family;

o   we get to know him on a first-name basis and spend private moments with him, making him more likeable and human and sympathetic as opposed to being stuffy and inaccessible; class barriers are shattered

·       It’s essentially a “buddy picture” that capitalizes on the “bromance” elements of bonding and friendship formed between King George VI and therapist Lionel Logue.

·       It forces us to focus on an otherwise trivial and unimportant little historical footnote instead of the front page news that is hinted at and glossed over in the film

o   you could easily make several movies about how Britain is swept up into World War II, or how brother Edward renounced his throne to marry the woman he loves;

o   instead, “The King’s Speech” spotlights a speech impediment and the relatively inconsequential event of the monarch having to address his subjects via the radio prior to the outbreak of war

·       The performances by Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter do most of the heavy lifting in this picture; the casting of the 3 leads is absolutely crucial, and the filmmakers nailed it with these 3 actors

·       The inspired choice of using the stirring second movement of Beethoven’s 7^th Symphony during the actual speech at the conclusion was dead-on genius: it’s a perfect marriage of music, story and performance, and the majesty of Beethoven’s peerless music gives gravitas to the entire scene.

·       It tells, essentially, a timeless fable we’re familiar with: Pygmalion, where a shrewd teacher tries to completely remold an impaired subject

WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT THE VISUALS USED: THE FRAMING, ANGLES, AND LIGHTING ESPECIALLY?

·       Unlike many other historical dramas that employ soft lighting effects, this picture uses harsher light to “spotlight” the real people and the challenges they faced; the result is a more modern look and deeper emotional effect

·       Extra-wide lenses were used to help slightly distort the King’s perspective, express his discomfort and depict the oppressive environments he inhabited; consequently, we see longer, tighter, sometimes more claustrophobic shots that underscore Albert’s feelings of being trapped

·       Most of the picture was filmed indoors utilizing narrow, oblong spaces, hallways and corridors, and tight confines; compare this to many historical dramas where ample spaces are shot; in his review of the film, Roger Ebert suggested: “I suspect (the filmmakers) may be evoking the narrow, constricting walls of Albert’s throat as he struggles to get words out.”

·       The filmmakers sometimes use off-center compositions to suggest emotional as well as spatial distance between characters; consider the scene where Albert is bunched up on the side of a couch at the margin of the frame when he first meets with Logue

·       In some shots, the camera was placed extremely close to the actor’s face(s) to record the raw emotion in their expressions. The film’s cinematographer, Danny Cohen, said in an interview: “If you put a lens 6 inches from somebody’s face, you get more emotion than if you’re on a long lens 20 feet away.”

WHAT THEMES ARE EXAMINED IN THE KING’S SPEECH?

·       The importance of communication, the simple but awesome power of the spoken word, and how the spoken word is the great equalizer among all classes

·       The relationship between the organic (the human voice) and the synthetic (technology, embodied by microphones, loudspeakers, phonographs and radios

·       The relationship between technology and humanity, two forces often shown in contrast and opposition to each other in this movie; the microphone in some shots symbolizes a cold, detached, impersonal and dehumanizing tool, yet it holds the key to getting the message across effectively to the masses

OTHER MOVIES BROUGHT TO MIND BY “THE KING’S SPEECH”

·       The Queen

·       My Fair Lady / Pygmalion

·       The Young Victoria (2009)

·       The Iron Lady (2011)

·       Mrs. Brown (1997, about Queen Victoria)

OTHER WORKS BY DIRECTOR TOM HOOPER

·       John Adams (HBO miniseries)

·       Les Miserables (2012 musical)