The Queen's Sister
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Movie Reviews of The Queen's Sister
Movie Review: Interesting History of Princess Margaret+Bonus Material
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie was a pleasant surprise. It was well-acted and well-made and accurate. It traces the history of Queen Elizabeth's younger sister, whose sad private life was played out publicly on the world stage. It chronicles her behavior, the drugs, wild parties, free sex etc. that always landed Princess Margaret in the headlines and as the major source for embarassing the British Royal Family in the generation preceding Princess Diana.
The DVD has a fascinating movie about a prior Royal scandal that involved Princess Caroline of Brunswick and her unhappy union with George, one of Margaret's ancestors. This was almost even better than the Queen's Sister. Don't miss it on the DVD.
Movie Review: Price of royal protocol
Summary: 3 Stars
Long before there was People's Pricess of Wales (Diana), there was Princess Margaret. I knew about her failed relationship with Towsend, but never knew about all the other scandals that surrounded her life. This is the generation that took their royal responsibility seriously. Queen Elizabeth's father was an accidental king, who has built his reputation during WWII. The respect that Royal Family built by staying in London during war and visiting bombed buildings and devastation during WWII definitely had effects on Elizabeth, who took her royal upbringing and consequent royal responsibility quite seriously. But what can second in line for the crown do when she finds out that suddenly she is fifth in line but yet must obey the rigid rules of royal protocol? How much sacrifices personal or otherwise one has to take in order to "earn" priviledge of living royal life where social diaries are filled with charity events and endless vacations. Many found that Margaret made an ultimate sacrifice when she gave up love of her life for the secure priviledge of her high social status that she was born into and raised with. But such sacrifice did not earn her life happily ever after. Quite the contrary - she became a royal family's black sheep that never quite got a chance to redeem herself. This is a meditation on money, priviledge, class that is way above any other - and inability to deal with change of times. It is amazing that all that protocol surrounding royals never prepared Margaret for her place in the world, not to mention the most important people supposed to inhabit it like her spouse and children and her own private life after all...Diana never got prepared for her life in the royal family, while Margaret, never got to adjust to her new role within the family after her sister took the throne upon their father's death.Movie Review: Not Sure If It's A Comedy Or A Drama--A Film As Messy As Princess Margaret's Life
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Queen's Sister," which had it's American debut on BBC America, tells the story of Princess Margaret. It's a fascinating, yet somewhat uneven, portrait of a royal we don't hear much about anymore. Marginalized by circumstance, she never really had a significant role to play within the framework of the Royal family. So by boredom, rebellion and/or greedy indifference--she began an unconventional lifestyle (for a Royal anyway) revolving around men and partying. Becoming a social celebrity of sorts, she sought acceptance anyway that she could get it and an acknowledgment of her status.
"The Queen's Sister" is at it's most effective when dealing with Margaret's internal struggles. Far from being a standard biopic, it is more of a psychological profile. And when depicting Margaret's search for purpose and worth, it has some nicely poignant moments. Even though she comes across unflatteringly on many occasions, there are times when we clearly see the girl beneath the title. The tone of the film, though, seesaws rather precariously between ribald comedy and quiet despair. This shifting focus does lessen the overall impact of the film, but it's never uninteresting.
The production benefits with a tremendous, vital performance by Lucy Cohu. Spanning 20 years of Margaret's life, it's a showy and robust showcase for Cohu's acting chops. The film is well presented and well done from a technical standpoint. I'm not so convinced that historical accuracy, however, was a top priority to the filmmakers. Nevertheless, I recommend the film to those interested in the Royals--it's a different perspective. And I give a big thumbs up to Cohu who holds everything together with a masterful and complicated performance. KGHarris, 11/06.
Movie Review: Odd, Sad, and Sometimes Amusing, Just Like the Princess
Summary: 3 Stars
This is supposed to be a dramatization of the life of Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II. It begins just before the death of King George VI and ends sometime after her messy divorce in the 1970s (although in this film it looks more like the late 1960s). This is more of a tabloid style scandal piece than a factual documentary, but it does do a good job of depicting the Princess's madcap life in search of fun, diversion, and love. Margaret could be very elegant and dignified on occasion, but we don't see those occasions in this film. She could be manic and wanton too, and this film plays those periods up for all they are worth. And we never see her in her more tender moments. Even her children are barely mentioned.
Very little explanation is provided for Margaret's hedonism. We don't see her relationship with her father, whose favorite she was, and her mother and sister never appear on screen. We are not allowed to see how her celebrated romance with Peter Townsend began, nor do we get much of an idea about why she eventually fell into and then out of love with Anthony Armstrong-Jones, Roddy Llewellyn, and her other lovers. All these disjointed segments leave us with is a deep sense of sadness for the Princess's wasted life, and maybe that's what the producers intended.
Interestingly enough, one of the extras provided on this DVD is much superior to the main selection. A Royal Scandal is an hour long depiction of the unhappy marriage of King George IV and Queen Caroline, which was first shown back in the 1990s. It really is funny, and the narration by Ian Richardson at his driest and most sardonic best is priceless.
Movie Review: Choice was yours, ma'am
Summary: 3 Stars
A tragic comedy of a talented vibrant female's life wasted with personal both thirst for publicity and illusions of superiority inherited.
A little if at all, compassion this always second-to-fifth-in-line triggered in a commoner watching a princess's story.