Will Sloan’s review published on Letterboxd:
Without an ounce of hyperbole, I am telling you that Tom Hooper is one of the very worst directors to ever attain "professional" status. This is a nightmarish visual experience. The wanton violations of the 180-degree rule. The bizarre compositions in which characters are pointlessly consigned the extreme right or left of the frame with acres of dead space next to them. The way his camera will arbitrarily shift into Terry Gilliam-vision. His inability to consider what the impact of a space should be, and how to correctly communicate that idea visually. People rightly give Kevin Smith a hard time for his visual illiteracy, but Tom Hooper is so much worse.
What's funny about royalist kitsch like this and The Queen (2006) is that they are liberal movies. Liberals believe in hierarchy, but through meritocracy rather than divine right. These movies are focused on "humanizing" the royals, because to do so makes their elite status legitimate when they rise to it. At the end of this movie, with the titular speech successfully delivered, Geoffrey Rush makes a point of taking a big step back from Colin Firth. His job is done. He is happily returning to his status as a mere commoner. The balance of nature is restored. I hate this movie.
Discussed further on the Michael & Us podcast.
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