High on "Telluride": The King's Speech

If the eyes of the world are still on Venice, they're looking in the wrong place, because everything important happening this weekend is happening in Telluride, Colorado. The King's Speech is one of those films I've been highly anticipating since the list of films playing at the festival was announced. Incidentally, it's one of the two films I'll be seeing in Portsmouth later this month, right along with Never Let Me Go. So it pleases me immensely to hear that it's the biggest hit at the festival today. The crowd speaks for itself, giving the film a standing ovation at the end.

Gregory Ellwood (HitFix): "Make no mistake... overall The King's Speech is one of The Weinstein Company's strongest awards season contenders in quite some time. Whether it can lock down a best picture nod is unclear, but its absolutely in the race just as An Education was a year ago at this time. As for Rush and Firth, it would be shocking if one of them isn't awarded another Oscar nod. The duo are that good. It's also worth noting Hooper is assisted by an excellent production design team made up of production designer Eve Stewart and art director Netty Chapman."

Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywood Reporter): "Firth doesn't just make a British king vulnerable and insecure, he shows the fierce courage and stamina beneath the insecurities that will see him through his kingship. It's not just marvelous acting, it's an actor who understands the flesh-and-blood reality of the moment and not its history. It's an actor who admires his character not in spite of his flaws but because of them. Rush is absolutely wonderful, and Hooper shoots him with all sorts of angles, lighting and strange positions that makes him look like an alien landed in 1930s London. Nothing much impresses him, and he is supremely confident in his own expertise, even when challenged by a star pupil and his coterie of advisers. He won't yield an inch."

Kris Tapley (In Contention): "These two have amazing, impeccable chemistry together. The script (along with their own input) offers a wonderful balance of humor and drama for the actors to work with. Each should comfortably find himself in the hunt for Oscar, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the film land nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Art Direction (absolutely splendid). The cinematography and film editing are also quite worthy."

So, it looks like this film has emerged as a sure fire Best Picture nominee, beginning to fill out the top category. I can't wait to see it, and I'll get back to you tomorrow, when I'll hopefully take a look at the reviews of The Way Back and 127 Hours.