Colin Firth gags on consonants, prickles with anger which he aims at those around him and feigns pomposity to hide his self-loathing instilled by years of inadequacy. The fact that he is playing King George VI in The King’s Speech is ultimately beside the point because this is a story of a flawed man indentured to a false but contextually necessary institution who happens to have a debilitating stammer. Oscar bait it may be, but for good reason. This is a film driven by two powerful core performances and decorated with a smattering of slightly hammy accompaniments which are only mildly distracting.

The marketing assault which has been carried out to publicise this film means you probably know what happens, but here’s a quick overview: Heir to the throne Albert has trouble with stammer in mid-1930s. Father, King George V (Michael Gambon), dies while brother (Guy Pearce) takes to the throne only briefly before abdicating to marry an American divorcee. This leaves Albert to lead Britain into WWII with only the help of unusual Antipodean therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) available to rescue his fragile voice from the brink of oral impotence and, by association, the nation from collapse.

This should be wartime drama on a grand scale but the script sensibly bypasses all the bits of history that are well trod and instead presents a largely unknown story from the early days of modern speech therapy. Albert is cast in a very human way and the film is at its best when he and Logue are having one to one sessions or confrontations. When it wanders elsewhere it is less successful, with the distracting caricature of Churchill given a fairly typical approach by Timothy Spall and Helena Bonham Carter failing to impress* as Queen Elizabeth, although neither is given much to work with.

Giving praise to The King’s Speech is like trying to stoke a volcano with Twiglets, but I’ve done my best to add to the boiling cauldron of critical platitudes. It is a period piece that is refreshing rather than a mere regurgitation, and while it has its issues** it has a mass appeal which is rewarding on many levels. See it, as if you haven’t already.

*Failing to impress me, obviously.

**London is shrouded in a perpetual mist which feels like a stereotypical portrayal of the capital in the olden days, although it may be accurate and liked to industry. Let me know.