The King's Speech (Tom Hooper)

With its depiction of clinch-jawed perseverance and triumph over an embarrassing impediment, it's easy to see why this film has been a real crowd pleaser--and because we saw it in a filled theatre that seems to continue to hold true month after its release. Held together by a tight script and excellent performances by Firth, Rush and (plumped up) Bonham-Carter, the film celebrated (if that's not too exuberant a word) determination and duty, while rejecting Hollywood's default crowd-pleasers, violence (seen only through newsreels of Hitler) and sex (through which Wallis Simpson emasculated the Prince of Wales/King Edward VIII).
In addition to peeking into the intimate trials of George VI, the film suggests an explanation for Elizabeth II's stoicism: throughout the film, a young Elizabeth and her sister quietly observe their father's acceptance of dutiful leadership. Surely, the film seems to argue, that would have formed her in ways hard to shake.

Recommend.