Brilliant movie portrays the reluctant king
I'm gazing at a borrowed copy of Sarah Bradford's biography of George VI, The Reluctant King. The reason I keep it close is that I don't like to keep borrowed books too long in case the owners might want them.
We saw The King's Speech a few weeks ago and I'm still getting flashbacks. When Helena Bonham Carter delivers the line, "That's Ma'am as in ham, not Mom as in palm," she's almost bored as she repeats the oft-used rote instructions on how to address her as royalty. And the look on Colin Firth's face when Logue, the "upstart" Australian speech tutor first calls him Bertie is indescribable.
Yesterday I walked past the Hotel Vancouver. For the first time, I paused and read the plaque about its history. Turns out that King George VI and the Queen Mother -- the Helena Bonham Carter character -- were there in 1939 when it was new. The parents of Queen Elizabeth, as well as the Queen, were a living part of Canada's history. Right, I told myself, I'll read the book.
In the film, elder brother David (Edward VIII of abdication fame) and his girl friend (Wallis Simpson) were unmemorable. Churchill, who should have been larger than life, was simply weird ("a distended bulldog...chewing wasps," according to a review in The Telegraph).But all these weeks later, I clearly remember Bertie's character arc in the film. I'd see The King's Speech again in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, I'm mining the book and for more gems on the social and cultural history of Canada and what we used to call "The Mother Country".