The King's Speech

I've been checking our local movie times incessantly, hoping that at some point The King's Speech will play around here. It was released last week in some of the major U.S. film markets -- I guess suburban Boston isn't one of them! --  and I'm chomping at the bit to see it. It has everything I love in a film: history (specifically English history), '30s and '40s fashion, drama/angst, the abdication crisis, a backdrop against WWII (yes, I'm fascinated with WWII history), and Colin Firth to top it all off. For those of you who haven't watched the trailer yet or haven't heard about the film, it's about King George VI's -- the current Queen's father --  private battle to eliminate his stammer and the crisis he faced when forced to take over the crown from his American divorcee-loving older brother.

Jennifer Ehle is also in the film. She played Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, which co-starred Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. This Mr. Darcy:



(Ok, cool down, Di.) And Guy Pearce, another hottie, plays King Edward VIII. A much improved version of the runaway king, I say.

So many other things to look forward to  ... there's Helena Bonham-Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Derek Jacobi, scenes of London ... arrgh, I can't wait! Have you seen The King's Speech? What did you think?