I'm into the Royal Family, so I have been waiting for this movie for a long time. Today I finally made it and I have to agree with the critics - this is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. I'm not sure the Academy will make it Best Picture, although it gets my vote. I know that anyone who's ever made a speech in front of an audience can relate to this story of triumph in the face of certain defeat. If you know anything about the history of the Royal family, you can appreciate it even more.
King George's father, King George V, wasn't born to be king. His older brother, Prince Albert Victor, died at a young age. Officially, he died of pneumonia, but Prince Albert Victor was suspected of being Jack the Ripper, the famous serial killer. The word on the street was that he was driven mad by a sexually transmitted disease from which there was no cure at the time.
The man who became King George VI, also wasn't meant to be the King. He came to the throne under very unusual circumstances. His brother, King Edward VIII, decided that if the Church and his government would not accept his paramour as his wife and queen, he wouldn't remain on the throne. This is quite a decision from someone who had been pampered and fused over since the day he was born. Edward VIII was the exact opposite of his brother - he was outgoing, well liked, extremely charming, and some considered him one of the handsomest men in the world. He was the quintessential Flapper Prince Charming of the 1920's. Instead of embracing his role, however, he sought the company of unavailable women who could never make suitable matches. The King abdicated rather than give up his lifestyle.
George VI was a married man with two children. He was painfully shy, had been born with knock knees that were corrected with painful splints, and he had a stutter that made him almost unintelligible. He was teased about it relentlessly in his family and all he sought in life was to hide under a rock and emerge to perform the occasional royal duty. He was a nervous wreck at the mere thought of taking the throne. He had never been trained for the position. The stutter that had been a nuisance was suddenly a cause for real concern. The stutter might have been politely tolerated for the second son of the King. But once it became clear that George might have to take his brother's place, it was certain that he would need to conquer the biggest obstacle in his life.
Who doesn't have at least one friend who stutters or struggles with words, or general communication. Whether it's a learning disability, illiteracy, or a fear of public speaking, it can be debilitating. I spent many an hour in school listening to classmates struggle through public readings. I never had the problem myself, but it didn't mean I was unsympathetic. It was heartbreaking, but you can't take their turn for them, and you weren't allowed to help them out.
This movie made me forget that the King was one of the wealthiest men on the planet, that his life was a flowery bed of ease, and that he could trace more than half his ancestry to the very country that was about to engulf us in a bitter and long lasting tangle that would change the world forever. Watching this movie I could only think that if history had been a little different, the world would be speaking German, our ancestors would have been killed in concentration camps, and a Republican White House would have been the least of our problems. I was glad that the King found a teacher who would help him - and the free world.
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