The King's Speech: "An endearing film, competently told and brilliantly acted..."

(Posted on 5th September, 2018)

An endearing film, competently told and brilliantly acted.

- (P): Positive

- (N): Negative

- (?): Other points/neither positive or negative

- (P) Story and main characters were compelling

- (P) Fantastic acting from the main cast, particularly Colin Firth

- (P) Competent cinematography, with a few really fantastic looking shots as well

- (P) Good use of classical music to help establish the audience in the time period

- (P) In addition to music, costume design and set design were consistently excellent

- (N) A few plot inconsistencies e.g. King George VI (Firth) refusing to see speech therapist --> Very next scene: Firth going to said speech therapist? Without any explanation, or showing how he was convinced to go?

- (N) The cinematography in a number of scenes felt a bit same-y (e.g. a similar shot-reverse shot with the actors in the lower right or left hand corner of the screen was repeated throughout the film with little variation) - almost, in some scenes, having a made-for-TV movie feel (but not quite).

Overall: Although the film could benefit from improved cinematography and slight plot adjustments, The King's Speech is a captivating period piece that boasts more than enough incredible acting, set design and costume design to overcome its few problems.

8/10