I’m not often found enjoying films that the critics, BAFTA and the Academy go mad for. Last year’s darling, for example, was the Hurt Locker, which I found very boring.
This year, however, the critics and BAFTA have been waxing lyrical about The King’s Speech, and I find myself agreeing with them. We finally got round to seeing it the other night, and it was most excellent. The acting was excellent, the filming was excellent, the scenery was excellent, the swearing was excellent. Personally, I think that Guy Pearce would have benefited from a supporting actor nomination but, hey, I’m not on the committee. The ability of some of the actors (Firth, Bonham-Carter and Claire Bloom) to act expansively why maintaining the traditional royal veneer was amazing. I am definitely a fan.
Also: I spent most of Friday doing random stuff at the Old Royal Naval College for work, and then randomly saw a very different side to the place when it pretended to be the Palace in the film. Which was geekily pleasing to me.