The King's Speech, on the surface, reels of all things Oscar baiting. Historical subject matter? Check. Well known British actors playing royalty? Check. Said members of royalty striking up a friendship with a commoner? Check. Said friendship blossoming despite the snobbery of those around them? Check. Yet the difference between The King's Speech and, say, Mrs Brown (a movie I found to be ok at best), is that all involved have crafted an excellent period piece that, whilst falling into the trappings of a typical Oscar friendly fair, manages to rise above the norm to be, quite possibly, the first real contender for best film of 2011. And we're only in February.
The cast are terrific yet it's Firth who stands head and shoulders above the rest. His work here is astounding. All talk of an acting Oscar win are not without merit and I would be surprised if he lost out. That's not to say that other contenders are undeserving (Jesse Eisenberg is equally brilliant) but Firth's performance is at once memorable and heartfelt. He carries the weight of the film with genuine gravitas and come the climax (in which the newly appointed King must deliver a nine-minute speech over the radio) I wanted to cheer.
It really is delightful to see a film such as this rise above general audience perceptions of this kind of work.
5/5
I literally cannot believe you scored this award-bait higher then 'The Social Network'.
ReplyDeleteI will hold you personally responsible when the latter fails to win its deserved Best Picture award.
It's a better film. Yes, it fits the trapping of Oscar Baiting, but i enjoyed it a lot more that The Social Network and felt it wa a better film. as already established, i didn't like TSN as much as you.
ReplyDeleteBlasphemy. Un-fucking-believable.
ReplyDeleteBetter than 'The Social Network'? David fucking Fincher?!?! TSN is *the* first masterpiece of the 21st century. Hooper coasts convention with no edge, originality or style. It's 'English Patient'...its 'Shakespeare in Love'. It's an excellent British drama, but it's no classic. It doesn't have the bite. It doesn't have the jazz.
TSN isn't just the best film nominated...only 'Inception' comes close of the 10. The others sit in a big gloopy pool of likeable, decent oscar-fare.
To call King's Speech better than TSN is like saying Gump was better than Pulp or Shawshank. It's like saying A Beautiful Mind was the Best of 2001. It's like saying Slumdog Millionaire was the best of 2008. It's insanity.
Support for Kings Speech as Oscar Winner is support for the lesser film winning.
ReplyDeleteIt's support for Avatar beating Hurt Locker.
First AGAINST the stagy British period drama.
Allowing Tom fucking Hooper to win Best Director is tantamount to Scorsese losing for Raging Bull and Goodfellas. It's BEST DIRECTOR ANTHONY MINGHELLA all over again. It's hearbreaking.
/rant
ReplyDelete*calms*
I really didn't rate The Social Network that highly. Sure it's good, excellent in fact, but a masterpiece? I don't agree. In fact, apart from Zodiac, I've found Fincher's recent cannon to lessen on a second viewing, and by that I guess I mean Benjamin Button, for which it's flaws are blatantly obvious a second time and has lessened to be very good as opposed to a masterpiece. Again, this is not to say it's bad, far from it, just that it's not the greatest film in years...
ReplyDeleteI found the King's Speech to be better due to the overall fact that I was more emotionally invested in it, something I wasn't during The Social Network, which is populated by very unlikable people and, therefore, not many that you can really empathise with, other than maybe Andrew Garfield. I think partly it's more to do with the fact that I'm not as big a Fincher fan as you. But to compare The King's Speech to, say, Shakespeare in Love or The Queen is unfair as it is leaps and bounds better than both. I have no issue with Hooper having a Director nom, as I actually found the direction to be substantially more than point and shoot stuff. It's understated and, in fact, if you give it a second view, is just as precise and non-showy as someone like Kubrick. Your calls of it being just generic middling Oscar baiting, I feel, are short sighted and unfair...
ReplyDeleteThe Social Network is a fine film, excellent in fact, but I found it emotionally cold in much the same way as critics have said Nolan is of late (Note: I've never found Nolan cold but that's another matter entirely). I can't warm to a film like that. The King's Speech really is a terrific film that is perfectly paced, well constructed, acted with gravitas and emotionally gratifying. Over all, I enjoyed it more and at the end of the day, that's why I go to the cinema. Therefore, whilst The Social Network is the most technically proficient, The King's Speech was all round the better film.
ReplyDeleteRetort over.