It’s a tempered summer Friday night & I’m with my family watching The King’s Speech. My aunt & the OldOld man have never seen it and, not to put too fine a point on it, my grandfather needs a break from Fox News. His heart valve transplant surgery recovery has given him more downtime than he knows what to do with.
The OldOld Man & history.
The OldOld Man’s going to become enwrapped in the history of the movie for the same reason Social Media geeks will love it. He’ll marvel at the fact that the invention of the radio nearly became England’s undoing. World War II became the first time the Royal Family had to be transparent & let their blemishes be seen by their entire kingdom as they attempted to instill them hope while Hitler was threatening to bomb London into a fine powder.
And the deliverer of that message, King George VI, stammered worse than a shellshocked nerd asking his high school’s head cheerleader to prom in front of her quarterback boyfriend.
The outcome is simply incredible.
Check out an actual speech for King George VI.
And the fact that the movie is based of historical documents and journals from central figures: unbelievable.
My mother & aunt will also love the acting.
The chemistry between Colin Firth as George VI & Geoffrey Rush as therapist Lionel Logue is legendary. The way George VI struggled to fight the emotional sources of his issues and how Lionel refused to compromise simply because George VI was royalty is a testament to the potential of human perseverance in the wake of human nature.
“Do you know any jokes.” – Lionel.
“…T…Timing isn’t my strong suit.” – George VI
Sprinkle in Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, a dash of Guy Pearce as King Edward VII & a touch of Michael Gambon as King George V and you could believe you’re watching the Royal Shakespeare Company. It’s a blessing in history that such a company of actors were brought together. Rave over.
And I get much-needed inspiration.
If you haven’t seen The King’s Speech you should watch it daily for a week then watch it once a month after that for if ever you needed inspiration to overcome your greatest fear to accomplish your goals, this movie is the template to follow. Both the successes & failures outlined in the movie should be adhered to in order to know that you’re not alone.
On your way, you will fail. You will fall on your face time & time again. Your wits will lose you when you need them most. You will lose faith in yourself. Weekly, when on schedule; daily, when the pressure’s most intense. People will lose faith in you. People will betray you. You’ll learn the hard way that those you want close to you won’t necessarily be the people you’ll need by your side. You will remorse the loss of those you wanted by your side, wasting precious energy scheming & dreaming up Hollywood scenarios in which they can return.
I say this as I scrape the last bit of caked mud off my face.
All the while, you’ll shun the arrival of the new cast of characters. Especially those who shuck you to the core and expose your biggest weaknesses. You’ll attack those new characters like antibodies to infections, hitting them where it hits hardest. But they won’t leave.
And those friendships, those friendships will last a lifetime.
At least, that’s what I get from the movie
And I’ll be watching it again tomorrow. I need this kind of support in my life right now.
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