The King's Speech: A Narrative Analysis

864 Words2 Pages

Set during a particularly tumultuous period in history, The King’s Speech (2010; directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler) depicts Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George’s struggle to overcome his crippling stammer and sense of inadequacy in the face of the untimely death of his father, King George V, the dishonor and uncertainty cast over the family when his brother Prince Edward VIII abdicates his right to the throne and the unchecked rise of a tremendous threat to the nation, Adolf Hitler. In order to become the leader needed in these difficult times, Prince Albert is forced to face his personal struggles head on through a multitude of ineffectual and often times medieval techniques administered by so called “trained physicians” until his wife, Elizabeth, happens across someone with a radically different approach. Australian stage actor turned speech therapist Lionel Logue’s openness, irreverence toward the throne and biting wit seem like the antithesis to the staunch and reserved Prince Albert, but these differences end up being exactly what the Prince needs to overcome his personal issues, assume his seat on the throne with confidence and, through it all, form an improbable but lifelong friendship. While The King’s Speech follows a fairly classical approach in regards to story and character development, it shares some traits with the formalist style as well in it’s frequent use of obscure camera angles that tend to draw attention to themselves. A great deal of emotions are expressed through it’s shot composition and camera placement which is somewhat unique to this type of historical drama. The film opens with Prince Albert attempting to address a large crowd in Wemble... ... middle of paper ... ...ect in Lionel‘s attempts to make friendly banter, threatening to end their sessions as quickly as they began. This cold distancing is most likely a protective mechanism Albert has developed over the years to avoid humiliation, but it has merely resulted in his alienation. In a last ditch effort to prove the effectiveness of his techniques, Lionel records Albert reading from Hamlet while a symphony blares through a pair of headphones, deafening Albert to his own voice. When the utterly frustrated Prince stops abruptly, assuming his reading has been nothing more then a garbled mess, Lionel asks him to take the recording and listen to it at his leisure. This record and what is on it symbolize a fragment of hope and humanity returning to Albert. He has a voice after all, he just doesn‘t know it yet. It will take Lionel’s encouragement and friendship to prove it to him.

Open Document