Posts tagged triumph
“The King’s Speech” Bertie’s Greatest Test
Jan 6th
“Bertie’s Greatest Test”
THE KING’S SPEECH portrays the unusual events in 1930s England that led to the coronation of the father of the current Queen Elizabeth to become King George VI, but more importantly the difficult personal struggle that the king went through in order to be able to speak in public.
As hard as it is to feel sorry for a king, this delightful film makes the audience feel sorry for the stammering monarch who was known as Bertie to his family, as well as to feel admiration for the three actors who portray Bertie, his speech therapist, and his supportive wife.
Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter play the three roles, and all of them have been mentioned for awards for their fine acting performances.
The story begins in 1934, and Prince Albert, the Duke of York, has been asked by his father, King George V, to give an address at Wembley Stadium in London. To watch him struggle is as painful to the audience in the theater as it must have been to the crowd in the stadium.
So, Bertie and his wife, Elizabeth, see various speech therapists with no success until Elizabeth finds Lionel Logue, an Australian self-taught therapist.
Elizabeth tells him that her husband has a terrible stammer and is required to speak in public, to which Lionel says, “Perhaps he should change jobs.”
Elizabeth tells Lionel that her husband cannot change jobs and then reveals her husband’s identity by saying, “And what if my husband were the Duke of York?”
Lionel’s methods are controversial, he and the duke must treat each other as equals, and all sessions must take place in Lionel’s rooms–no exceptions.
When King George V dies, Bertie’s older brother, David, becomes king, but he shirks his duties and doesn’t want to be king if he can’t marry the woman he loves, which he can’t, because she is twice divorced, and as head of the Church of England, the king cannot marry a divorced woman.
And, of course, the winds of war are increasing in Europe, and when England declares war with Germany, the new king, that is to say our old Bertie, must be able to give a stirring speech on live radio to the British people.
THE KING’S SPEECH is an excellent film all around of Bertie’s greatest test.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The King’s Speech – Movie Trailer
Jan 6th
After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle. Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING’S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice.
“Revolutionary Road” Death of the American Dream
Feb 19th
Death of the American Dream
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD has admirable qualities, but it is also a disappointment in many more ways than one.
Admirable, of course, is that it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, it was directed by Winslet’s husband, Sam Mendes, and it is based on the acclaimed 1961 novel by Richard Yates.
One of the disappointments is built into the story, which takes place in 1955 and is about what was known as “the American Dream.”
According to BREWER’S DICTIONARY OF PHRASE & FABLE, the American Dream is “a phrase epitomizing the democratic ideals and aspirations on which America had been founded, the American way of life at its best,” and back then that included a happy marriage, two children, a house in the suburbs, and a fulfilling job that is rewarding.
When the film opens, we see Frank and April meet at a party in New York City. Frank is a veteran of World War II, and April is studying to be an actress.
We skip ahead to when they are already married and April is appearing in a community-theater production with disappointing, humiliating results. Frank says to April, “Well, I guess it wasn’t exactly a triumph or anything, was it?”
On the way home, they get into an argument, Frank stops the car, he calls her “sick,” and she calls him “disgusting.”
Then we see a flashback to when they bought their house in Connecticut on Revolutionary Road.
Frank commutes to his boring job in New York City, and on his 30th birthday he does something that we hope is out of character.
April believes that Frank is the most interesting person she has ever met, and she tells him her idea that will change their lives forever. She wants to sell their house and everything else they have, move the family to Paris, and she will work to support the family while Frank will have all the time he needs to figure out what he wants to do.
Frank agrees, because their whole existence is that they are different from everyone else and that they are “special.”
However, they aren’t really special; they just think they are and have deluded themselves into believing that, especially when something happens at work that makes Frank get cold feet about Paris.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is the death of the American Dream with many false endings.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”