Great write-up. Another tool that is used effectively to gain sympathy for Bertie is his relationship with his brother. There are two ways this works:

1) His brother's ruthless imitation of the stutter and the pain it causes.
2) Bertie's strong moral code becomes particularly evident in his handling of his brother's relationship with the soon-to-be-divorced female.

What's interesting is how even though most of us in the Western world don't like the idea of marrying for status rather than love, we tend to sympathize with Bertie in this situation because of how much is at stake for their family here (and also because of how he handles it, while his brother is, well, an idiot.)

Thanks Scott, for pointing out the subtle aspects. Few things that come to my mind:

Loving relationship between Bertie and his wife; not for once she makes him uncomfortable about his problem. Unlike Bertie she never gives up and continues to find a solution for her hubby's problem. It's a team at work and who wouldn't want such an angel - always supporting, always loving.

Taking from above - Bertie hates being in such a situation. Too challenging, too embarrassing. Again, who doesn't want to avoid such messy scenarios especially when one is sure about one's flaws. And most of us anyway take it hard on ourselves.

~ Anuj

Great article, thank you!!

I was prepared to lovelovelove the film - and ended up only sort of liking it. My biggest problem was with the first half, which left me strangely bored. I'm not quite sure why, but think it was because I didn't find the stakes high enough - until it was clear that Bertie would have to become not only king, but also lead his country into a war: During a time when radio was to become an immensely important "weapon".

I'd be really interested to know if anyone else saw the stakes too low in the first half - or if I'm just a mean person and can't bring up enough empathy for a stuttering prince... In either way - I could learn from this :)
Carin

@Darren: Seidler definitely uses the relationship Bertie has with his brother to elicit sympathy for Bertie, both instances you note as prime examples.

@Maibaap: Also good examples of how Seidler mines the sympathy factor for Bertie: (1) The fact his wife sympathizes for him models an attitude Seidler wants us to feel. (2) Bertie's embarrassment: We can all identify with situations where we have been embarrassed. When Bertie feels that in public, we naturally draw upon our own experiences, which generates sympathy in us for Bertie.

@Carin: Frankly I'm surprised The King's Speech has done as well as it has precisely because I figured a lot of people would have your reaction. The movie is a throwback in how 'slow' it is. Compare to the bombast we see in all the comic book character movies nowadays. Even compare to The Social Network where everyone talks fast, moves fast, shot like an action movie. TKS is downright plodding in comparison. And yet that's part of it's charm, at least for me, in that it allows us to see the subtle progression of the friendship between Bertie and Lionel. I suspect if you watch the movie again and allow yourself to settle into its 'slow' mindset, you might experience the first act as being a bit more entertaining.