Describe and interpret the Establishing Shot of the film you viewed at the Nickelodeon. How did this set the stage for your experience with the film?
The film's opening establishing shot was of a microphone at all different angles, and then it switch to many people preparing for what I thought out to be the speech broadcast. The film then switched to the main character himself and showed him looking nervously at his speech while his wife comforted him. The establishing shot then ended with the main character being prompted that it was time. From this establishing shot, I perceived that the main character was preparing for a major speech and that it seemed as though he had never given one before. The preparations being made by the other actors were all for the one speech that the main character was about to give. As soon as one of the characters said that it was time, I knew that the main character was not ready to handle public speaking and that that the speech may not turn out well. The establishing shot introduced us to the main character, "King George" A.K.A "Bertie", and his wife, "Elizabeth". It also introduced us to some of the King's mentors that guide him through out the speech process.
Describe any interesting camera angles that were seen in the film.
Throughout the film I noticed that when switching the scenes the camera would create another establishing shot by giving the audience a zoomed out view of the scene's stage and then zooming in on the characters so that it gives the audience a feel for where the scene is taking place. They did this type of camera angle a lot, especially when Bertie and Lionel were practicing in the church, the camera zoomed out and gave the audience a view of the beautiful church and its art and then zoomed in on Bertie and Lionel's conversation. The director seemed to start out new scenes with a shot of something artsy and interesting for the audience's eyes.
Describe and interpret the story line of the film. What scenes moved you, drew you in, made you feel uncomfortable, etc? Did you view any Mise-en-Scene or staging in the film?
"The King's Speech" is about the Duke of York, "Bertie", being the son of King George and how he developed a speech impediment from the events of his early life. He now faces the hardship of giving live speeches to his country while trying to overcome his speech impediment. His stutter causes him a great deal of stress and his wife, Elizabeth, hires many doctors to help him. None of the doctors that Elizabeth hire work and as Bertie was about to give up, Elizabeth saw an ad in the newspaper about Lionel Logue, a speech therapist. During Bertie's first session with Logue, it did not feel like the usual speech therapy session, Logue did the best that he could to make Bertie feel comfortable and used a different technique than what the previous doctor that we saw use before. I knew from this scene that Bertie would develop a different kind of trust for Logue. The scenes that made me feel uncomfortable were the scenes when Bertie had to give his speeches, it made me feel embarrassed for him and was hard to watch. Another scene that made me feel uncomfortable was when Bertie's older brother turned on him and started to make him feel worthless and Bertie could not fight back and it made me feel sad for him. The scene that drew me into the movie was when the movie flashed through Logue's and Bertie's therapy sessions and we got to see Bertie's progress being made. My favorite scene of the movie was when Bertie finally delivered a speech with out stuttering. I could feel a sense of accomplishment for Bertie as well as the friendship aspect of Logue's and Bertie's relationship.
Analyze the roles of the actors. Were they convincing in their depiction of the character they played? Why or why not?
I thought that every actor in the movie hit their role perfectly, especially Bertie played by Colin Firth. Firth did a great job in targeting Bertie's lack of confidence and played a character with a speech impediment very well. Lionel Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush and Rush did a great job as a supporting actor. He had a great serious side mixed in with a sense of humor. He threw in funny jokes while keeping a straight face, he did a great job of taking a serious situation and turning it into a friendly comical one. Bertie's wife was played by Helena Bonham Carter. Carter played a great supporting wife to Bertie and she acted with a lot of passion and did a great job at playing a queen. She played a nice soft side around her husband and then when she was around other people she used the perfect manners of how a queen should act.
How did the music orsoundtrack of the film influence your interpretation and experience of the film?
The music during this film had a very classical theme. You could always hear an orchestra playing in the background which gave me the feeling of old times as well as set the stage for the specific time period that this movie takes place. During an intense moment in the film, the orchestra would speed up their play and when their was a sad part of the movie the orchestra music seemed more mellow. During the exciting parts of the movie the music was more upbeat and the orchestra used the high pitched instruments.
Describe the genre of the film.
The genre of "The King's Speech" is a historical drama. The events during this time period were depicted accurately and the stage that the movie was played on made the audience feel like they were actually in the old times.
Describe, analyze and interpret the context of the film. What message or meaning did you derive from the film?
This film presents a historical yet inspirational context about the King of England overcoming his speech impediment and coming out with a remarkable speech that was beautifully presented to his country about going into World War II. This movie also presents how important it is to maintain a friendship. Bertie's speech therapist not only help him overcome his stutter but also became his best friend too. Logue helped Bertie out in a way only friends can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment