This said, I can't resist a comment on Pinkerton's observation about a leader recognizing his duty and obligation to work on overcoming his own shortcomings:
Realizing that history would summon him to duty, like it or not, our prince--played with Oscar-grabbing understatement and poignancy by Colin Firth--resolves to improve his speech, seeking out the best speech therapists in London.
It is ironic that viewed through the lens of history, most people here will rightfully consider the King's willingness to humble himself and acknowledge he needed help to improve a skill set necessary for him to do his job effectively as a noble and laudable thing to do.
However, whenever I and others suggested that President Bush would have benefited from doing something similar, we were roundly castigated... /g
I totally agree! I grew up going to the movies, and today I'm very choosy about the ones I see. There aren't too many good ones being made. This one, however, is outstanding.
People have a prejudice about speaking skill. They associate the ability to communicate clearly with intelligence. Of course it is plainly evident, when we stop to think about it, that the two things really have no relationship to one another. I suspect people thought that any criticism of Bush's speaking ability was an insult to his intelligence.