The King’s Speech is a marvel of economy. Do not go into the film expecting a BBC miniseries with elaborate costumes and set pieces, with lush scenic views of the beauty of England. The majority of the film is set in a series of small, suffocating rooms. Most of the film is trained tightly on the actors’ faces, mainly Colin Firth. Oh, and by the way – The King’s Speech is maybe the best film of the year. I’m just throwing that out there.

In case you need a refresher about the general plot, here you go: Colin Firth plays Albert/George, HRH The Duke of York, the second son of King George V. For historical context: Albert/George rises to the throne of the United Kingdom when his brother, The Prince of Wales-turned-King Edward VIII (played by Guy Pearce) abdicated the throne in favor of marrying the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The Duke of York became King George VI, coronated in 1937. King George VI led Britain through World War II and died of lung cancer in 1952, after which his older daughter became Queen Elizabeth II, who still reigns today. Historically speaking, the film was very accurate, although I did wonder if they took some liberties with the relationship between the two brothers, the Duke of York and the Prince of Wales. From what I’ve read, the two were very close until Wallis Simpson came along, and when Edward abdicated, King George was very generous to his older brother. The film makes Edward out to be rather cruel and rather pussy-whipped. Maybe that’s true, I don’t really know.

The film begins in the years preceding Edward’s abdication, when very little was expected of the Duke of York beyond his naval career and the odd public speech. The public speech provides difficult for the Duke – he’s had a terrible, crippling stutter since childhood. Various royal-sycophant specialists are brought in to cure his stutter, to no avail. His wife, Elizabeth, the Duchess of York (played by Helena Bonham Carter), seeks out the help of a working-class, Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush).

For the most part, the film is about Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s relationship, and honestly, those are the best scenes. The two men are wonderful together, and the relationship is complicated and riveting. That being said, Helena Bonham Carter is absolutely enchanting, and when she’s not on screen, you actually miss her. I wanted to see more of her – she and Colin Firth had a very easy, sweet chemistry together, which likely mirrored the real “love affair” marriage of the real King and Queen. Also, it’s just friggin’ wonderful to see Helena in a period film that doesn’t involve crazy Tim Burton costumes. She’s so pretty, and she gave a very light-yet-powerful performance as the loving wife who will do anything to help the man she loves. So much of the performance was in the closeups of her face, the emotions in her eyes.

Now, let me just say this: if Colin Firth doesn’t win an Oscar, it will be a major travesty of justice and all that is holy. Helena was wonderful, Geoffrey Rush was a joy, Guy Pearce was eye-catching and fascinating, but Colin Firth brought everything home. He needs an Oscar just for the extraordinary vocal work he did – he completely changed his voice, and his stutter was authentic, painful, half-choking, half-sobbing. Beyond the voice work, Colin was just nailing it right and left. He’s such a big man, and he was able to project a physical weakness, an extreme discomfort and “smallness” when his stutter choked him. One of my favorite parts was where Lionel was having the prince do vocal exercises, using curse words to loosen up. Hearing a string of expletives come of his mouth was so funny, so touching, so wonderful. Sigh… I love Colin Firth.

So, all in all, I would totally recommend this movie to everyone. Even kids (not little kids, but I think teenagers would like it). It’s wonderful. And Colin is going to win. He has to.

Promotional stills courtesy of All Movie Photo. Poster courtesy of Collider.