“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.”