Earlier, I said that while The Social Network may be the favorite with some, the 5,744 voting members of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would pick The King's Speech for Best Picture. I stated that here:
Now, after having seen The King's Speech, and most of the 10 candidates for "Best Picture" at The 83rd Academy Awards, I can see why the "period piece" directed by Tom Hooper is getting so many rave reviews. It's a well crafted film that expertly uses the camera to tell a story, almost without dialog.
Indeed, The King's Speech is about more than a man overcoming his stammer, it's about a man finding himself at the time his country needs him the most. All of that you get in one viewing.
That's completely different from the experience I get watching Inception or The Social Network. Inception requires more than one sitting to totally "get it," but once you do it stays with you. The Social Network is more a story about Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg than a movie that teaches anyone anything - except that the path to success is littered with ass holes and one has to make sure they don't become one along the way.
While Toy Story 3 is a terrific animated film, what it lacks to win the Oscar is that sense of importance we normally attach to any top Best Picture candidate; The King's Speech has that. Moreover, the movie does an excellent job of transporting us to another time and place for a moment. That's an incredible feat only the best films can achieve, and that's something both The King's Speech and Inception do. The problem is with Inception, it takes a little while to figure out where you are once you get there; with The King's Speech, there's no question of where you are and why it's important. You just know.
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