Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

Top Movies: American Culture and Citizenship

 

Top Movies: American Culture and Citizenship is a resource for teachers, learners and anyone interested in the highest values of American culture and citizenship. 

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Win Win (2011)

The Blind Side (2009)

A Civil Action (1998)

Hoosiers (1986)

Inherit the Wind (1960)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Local Hero (1983)

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

October Sky (1999)

Regarding Henry (1991)

The Right Stuff (1983)

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

 

Top 10 Steps to Healing for Best Actor Colin Firth in The King's Speech

 

Best Actor Colin Firth transforms himself from stutterer to king in Best Picture The King’s Speech. Here are 10 steps for healing and self-discovery that he followed:

1. Overcoming the Stutter.  Firth plays a humiliated King George VI who fears that he will not be able to fulfill his new role. He faces subconscious terror.  Slowly, the royal begins to trust his new speech coach Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).

The new king exercised and practiced.  He used speaking strategies and learned to breathe more deeply.  He faced mystery with determination, finally believing that he could speak powerfully. Firth, who is classically trained in Shakespearean acting, painstakingly recreated the mechanics of the stutter and the king’s frustration. Like Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot, he crafts an inspiring example for the differently abled.

2. Friendship with a Commoner.  The future king had to step down from his pedestal and seek help from a speech coach of modest means and impressive skill. Logue insisted that he and “Bertie” treat each other as equals in the privacy of the speech studio. Mutual respect is necessary to achieve progress.  After the death of his father, the student realizes that royal and commoner are two parts of a whole. He begins to respect and befriend Logue.
3.  Forgiving His Father.  Bertie forgives his father King George V (Michael Gambon) after the elder monarch dies.  He realizes his father did his best, and was himself formed and limited by royalty. As a dad, the character has the power to recreate fatherhood. He understands that George V was well-meaning even though sometimes cruel.  
4.  Forgiving His Brother.  When his brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) indulges himself and chooses love over royal responsibility, Bertie sees a new future before him.  Perhaps he always secretly wanted to become king. Now his brother is stepping down and he has an awesome opportunity.  The younger brother forgives Edward, who exercises his right to seek personal pleasure and romantic fulfillment.  
5.  Becoming King – Personal Greatness.  As George VI steps into the role of king, his voice becomes vital to his ability to lead, inspire and reassure the English.  He begins to value his speech coach and depend upon his new friend. He honors ceremonial traditions yet expands on the often limited views of the monarchy. At his coronation, George VI insists that Logue accompany him.
6.  Public Speaking. The king strives to enunciate clearly and make an impact. He must prepare, practice, speak firmly and pause appropriately. The process on film was enriched by Firth’s meticulous training as an actor.    
7. Father.  Bertie is known for telling bedtime stories to his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret (Freya Wilson and Ramona Marquez).  After he becomes king, the new princesses curtsey to him.  He commands their respect in a loving relationship.  He’s a self-actualized man and father who is able to be tender and strong.   
8. Husband.  Bertie accepted his wife’s help long after he had given up hoping to speak publicly. Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) urges him to consult with the humble Logue after he exhausts all other possibilities.  The new king continues to partner with his wife as she guides and supports him behind the scenes.
9. Leading a Nation.  George VI learned about geopolitics as World War II approached. The king asked his people to pitch in to help save the nation. The king took the advice of Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall). He was forced to accept the resignation of Neville Chamberlain (Roger Parrott). He listened, considered and followed his inner guidance. 
10.  World Leader.  The new king taps into his true concern for the people. His own best qualities emerge: good character, maturity, sacrifice and hard work. His personal trials, and a world crisis, strengthen him. Before our eyes, George VI becomes a world leader.

Like Top 10 Lists? You might enjoy:  Top 10 Films That Change Us 2010 ©; Top 10 Steps to Self-Discovery for Best Actress Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

Top 10 Steps to Self-Discovery for Best Actress Natalie Portman in Black Swan

 

In psycho-sexual thriller Black Swan, Best Actress Natalie Portman transforms herself on film and in real life. These 10 steps to self-discovery show her growth as a woman, a dancer, a daughter and a human being:

1. Daughter to Adult. Portman’s character Nina Sayers breaks away from her overprotective mother (Barbara Hershey). She does whatever it takes to secure the Swan Queen role. “Where is my sweet girl?” Hershey asks. “She’s gone!” Portman screams.  Nina becomes her own woman as she dances in her bedroom filled with stuffed animals and dance figurines.
2. Physical Stamina.  Portman reveals a determined dance martyr who cracks her joints, splits toenails and purges to stay thin. Self-mutilation is a disturbing part of her journey. The star performed much of her own dancing in Black Swan. At the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, Portman described dance as “expression through physicality alone.” She had to master every muscle, including “the detail on how the fingertips move, the eyes, the placement of the head.”
3. Mental Endurance.  Nina has practiced for hours a day since childhood, so it is not a stretch to work even harder to win a leading role. Great performers often lose themselves while immersed in their craft. What is troubling is Nina’s complete loss of self.
4.  Sexuality.  Dance master Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) raises the bar. In his new production of Swan Lake, the star must play both the White and Black swans.  Nina can play the virginal White Swan in a heartbeat, Leroy says.  But can she manage the seductive, lascivious Black Swan? Leroy hits on Nina, using sex to bring her out.
5.  Professional Recognition.  Nina finally secures the Swan Queen role, but intense preparation holds psychological perils. Former company star Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) confronts Nina and makes her reel with guilt. Beth is belligerent over her forced retirement, and seems utterly used up and violently crushed.
6.  Sister/Competitor.  Nina allows Lily (Mila Kunis) to befriend her. Lily initiates Nina into the dark side of art and creation as they go out for a night on the town. The two vie for the same role, yet they complement each other. Nina embraces her own dark, hidden desires. Lily is moved ever so slightly by Nina’s genuine innocence.
7.  Genuine Romance.  In real life, Portman fell in love with her co-star and choreographer Benjamin Millepied.  The two are engaged and expecting their first child, a boy, this year.  It’s a fairy tale ending that contrasts with Black Swan’s nightmarish course.
8.  Self-Love: Befriending the Self.  After Black Swan ends, filmgoers are left to consider self-love.  Will Nina ever be able to return to life after her peak experience onstage?
9.  Fame and Success.  Creation. Destruction. Sacrifice.  Black Swan dramatizes the life of a female artist. Society expects much from women. Women may raise that bar even higher. Is success worthwhile when the path demands so much?
10.  Darkness and Light.  Blending nightmare and fairy tale, Director Darren Aronofsky shows a woman who has lost perspective.  The Dance is one part of Nina’s life. She must learn that it is not her whole life. 

Like Top 10 Lists? You might enjoy: Top 10 Films That Change Us 2010 ©; Top 10 Steps to Healing for Best Actor Colin Firth in The King’s Speech.