Stunned

Last night, Tony and I joined the long queue outside our local cinema to see The King's Speech.

My mother can remember when George VI was king, and how, whenever he made a speech, there was a sense of willing him to get through it. You'd be with him through every word, suffering for him if he stammered and glad of every word he got right. That voice carried them through the war years. The film finishes before that bleak Christmas when that shy, brave man gave them that quote about 'The man at the gate of the year'. It inspired, and still inspires.

And so does the film. It inspires, challenges, and touches you. Performances are perfectly pitched. There is something 'beyond acting' about the two central performances. Duty is an old-fashioned word, but it's a key concept here, as are courage, love, trust... and hope. And it's funny, in places.

If you haven't seen it yet, you know what to do now.