the king's speech: epic friendship

the script's good, the direction fine, and the casting superb (colin firth is perfect), but it really is the story here that exercises your heart, which for some reason has caught me off guard in an amazing way. the events and characters are factual. a group of intrigued story tellers have assembled a skilled team to tell this story of rare friendship amidst admittedly bizarre social conditions, one strange enough for a cinematic double-take and important enough for the whole world to see and hear. THE KING'S SPEECH doesn't call too much attention to how it's telling itself, but instead lets it play out with a strangely-arched string of wonderful moments, and with history and tradition as its support.

the only glaring missteps here are in cinematography, in which someone thought it a good idea to make overly artsy choices that read as visual stoopidity to this reviewer. and to tell the truth, i could have gone for an even harder emotional tug (i like to try to resist as hard as possible to retain my emotional manliness in the movie theatre) in the final moments of the film, but i assume that's just my taste.

after leaving my seat after the end credits, the idea that a humble friendship can influence the history of a nation and culture rings true. although not royalty, our friendships can be epic--are epic--with appropriate vulnerability, humor, and love. go see it.