Sunday, August 19, 2012

Sunday Salon: Watching King's Speech and Wallis and Edward

Wallis & Edward is a mostly sympathetic portrayal of the relationship between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.  The film stars Joely Richardson and Stephen Campbell Moore. (I really, really loved him in the role of Hugh Stanbury in He Knew He Was Right.) The film follows their courtship leading up to his abdication of the throne so he could be with the woman he loved. This portrayal shows an incredibly vulnerable Wallis Simpson being pursued by the King, highlighting her reluctance to take this relationship seriously. (She was married at the time.)

While I enjoyed Wallis & Edward, it wasn't a movie I could love.

The King's Speech, on the other hand, was an incredible movie that I just LOVED. The film stars Colin Firth as King George VI, Helena Bonham Carter as his wife, Queen Elizabeth, and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. This was a movie that I loved almost from the start. I loved so many things about it! I loved the relationship between husband and wife. And I loved seeing him as a father with his two little girls. Loved seeing the juxtaposition of the king's private and public lives. The scenes between the king and his therapist were so wonderful, so compelling.  And this wasn't just the king's story either. We also caught glimpses of Lionel Logue's private life, his time with his wife and children. (Loved all the Shakespeare references, for example!!!) There were so many things that I absolutely loved about this movie.This film, of course, covers the same span as Wallis & Edward, but the portrayal is very different. And there are scenes between the two brothers that are difficult to watch.

I am planning on watching Bertie & Elizabeth when the library gets a copy.

Watch these two:
  • If you are interested in the royal family
  • If you enjoy the 1930s

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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