Movie Synopsis - The King's Speech

Movie Review - The King's Speech
Movie Trailer - The King's Speech

The film started with Prince Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth), the second son of King George V, giving a speech at the close of the 1925 British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) was by his side. His stammering speech echoing in Wembley stadium left the thousands of audience felt unsettled. The duke had several unsuccessful treatments and eventually gave up until his wife met Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist in London. She managed to persuade the duke to see Lionel Logue.  In their first session, Logue requested that they addressed each other by names so Logue told the duke that he will be calling him Bertie, a name that only his family used. At first, Bertie was reluctant to receive treatment. In order to proof his expertise to the duke, Logue challenged Bertie to read Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" loudly while listening to loud music on headphones. Logue claimed that Bertie will read it perfectly. Bertie took the challenge. Logue recorded Bertie's reading. Bertie being lack in confidence, left without listening to the recordings. He declared himself hopesless. Logue who failed to convince him, gave the record to him.

In 1934, after King George V (Michael Gambon) makes his Christmas address, he explained to Bertie the importance of speech to a king. King George V also declared that Edward, the Prince of Wales also knows as David (Guy Pearce), Bertie's older brother, will be the next in line to be the king. King George V added that David will ruined the family and the country when he takes the throne. He demanded Bertie to train himself to fill in.  He started off with himself practising reading his father's speech. After a frustrating attempt, Bertie played Logue's recording and heard himself making flawless recitation of Shakespeare. He went back to Logue. They work together on muscle relaxation and breath control. Logue slowly probed the psychological reasons of the duke stammering. Soon, Bertie revealed some of the pressures he had during his childhood days. His father is a strict man. The repression for being a natural left-hander. He had a painful treatment with metal splints for his knock-knees. He had a nanny who favoured his elder brother. She constantly pinched him to make him cry and did not feed him enough. It took his parents three years to notice. The early death of his little brother Prince John in 1919 also affected him deeply. Soon, Lionel and Bertie became close friends.

On 20 January 1936, King George V passed away. David acceded the throne as King Edward VIII. He insisted in marrying Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), a divorced American socialite. At a party in Balmoral Castle, Bertie confronted Edward and told him that a king cannot marry a divorced woman. King Edward VIII accused his brother of plotting  to overthrow him off his throne.

At his next session, Logue noticed that when Bertie cursed, he didn't stammer. He asked the duke to say every swear word that came across his mind of. After doing so, Bertie told Logue about David's foolish act with Wallis Simpson. Logue insisted that Bertie could be king. Angry with Logue, Bertie accused Logue of treason and mocked Logue's failed acting career. Their friendship was badly affected.

When King Edward VIII abdicated to marry, Bertie became King George VI. The new king realised that he needs Logue's help. He and the queen visited the Logues' residence to apologise and asked Logue for his assistance. When the king insisted that Logue be seated in the king's box during his coronation in Westminster Abbey, Dr Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Derek Jacobi), questioned Logue's qualifications as a speech therapist. The King confronted Logue, Logue revealed that he started off by treating shell-shocked soldiers in the last war. Halfway through the confrontation, the king began to questioned his own strength, Logue went and sat down on the King's chair and dismissed the Stone of Scone as a trifle. The king was angry with the disrespectful act of Logue but he surprised himself for his sudden fluency, which was intentionally provoked by Logue.

Upon the September 1939 declaration of war with Germany, Bertie summoned Logue to Buckingham Palace to help him for his radio speech to Britain and the Empire. Millions of people listen to their radios as the king delivered his speech.  Logue was there with him to coach him. After the speech, the king and his family stepped onto the balcony of the palace, thousands cheered and applauded to him.

At the end, it was told that Logue was always present during the many speeches King George VI gave during World War II. It also mentioned that in 1944 the King made Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of Logue's personal service to the Monarch. The final card states that Bertie and Logue remained best friends for the rest of their lives.

Movie Review - The King's Speech

Movie Trailer - The King's Speech