The
first movie I have seen in 2011 sets a very high standard for the rest
of the year as "The King's Speech". To start off Coiln Firth is being
talked about being the one to beat for the best actor Oscar while
Geoffrey Rush will be battling it out for best supporting actor. Taking
nothing away from Firth's performance, though it would split the vote,
Rush belongs in the same category. These are titanic performances by 2
actors at the top of their game with Rush stealing many of the scenes.

The
film is a true story--well as true as any docudrama can be--that takes
place in the 1930s about a man who became king unwillingly. Along the
way we meet today's Queen Elizabeth, as a young girl, along with her
sister Margaret, her grandfather King George V, her uncle who gave up
his crown for the woman he loved, an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson,
among many statesmen of the time. During the film we get a quick,
painless, history lesson of the monarchy of the last 80 years.

Colin
Firth, as King George VI, is a man with a debilitating stutter and
Geoffrey Rush, as Lionel Logue, is the speech therapist from Australia
living in England who comes to help, and befriend, the man before he
becomes, and when he is, the king. Helena Bonham Carter is the king's
wife, Jennifer Ehle is Mrs. Logue, both supportive of their husbands.
Guy Pearce, is the king's brother who left the throne to him, leaving to
live a 'different' life with Wallis Simpson played by Eve Best. Michael
Gambon, as King George V, father of the two men, with Claire Bloom ,
who I didn't recognize, as his wife, along with Stanly Baldwin and Derek
Jacobi are part of a first rate ensemble. The only over the top
performance is by Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill who seems to be
auditioning for a movie of that Prime Minister.

The
screenplay,by David Seidler, and the direction of Tom Hooper, take the
movie past the ordinary, adding humor and drama where they are needed,
and though, just like in life, there are slow moments, they are quickly
over taken with the drama and/or comedy of real life.

With
all the history, the behind the scenes of the monarchy, it is the
powerful performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush that pull you
into the film and, even knowing the outcome,  it is their interaction
that keeps you on the edge of your seat and near tears near the end, not
forgetting the laughs they offer along the way.