The Queen
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Movie Reviews of The Queen
Movie Review: The Queen rules
Summary: 5 Stars
The British royal family has weathered abdications, wars, and scandal. But one of the nastiest hits to them in the twentieth century came when Princess Di was killed.
And so "The Queen" tries to get inside the perfectly-permed head of the British Queen Elizabeth II, nearly ten years ago. Helen Mirren gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the title character, as she attempts to weather public and personal difficulties. Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
The movie opens with the election of Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), who comes to visit the queen (Mirren), despite being rather nervous about his new job. The country has been off balance ever since Di died in a car crash a few weeks ago, and her passing leaves the royals with mixed feelings. The queen decrees that since Diana divorced Prince Charles, she was no longer a royal, and her arrangements are to be left to her family.
What she doesn't realize is that the people ADORED Diana, and continue to adore her in the weeks that follow. Then the press joins in, berating the royal family for coldly ignoring the ex-princess, and heralding the Labour Party Blair. Her husband and mother think that she should continue doing nothing -- but the Queen has learned that sometimes the people need to be appeased.
"The Queen" unfolds slowly like an old book, and Stephen Frears gives it the dignified gloss that usually belongs to older movies. Scenes that could have been maudlin or cliche are underplayed, which makes them more powerful. One example is of the queen peering in as Charles tells his young sons that their mother has died.
Fortunately, as in real life, there's also comedy as well as confusion and tragedy; Peter Morgan injects some humor when a nervy Blair meets the Queen for the first time. Morgan also spins u[ the kind of dialogue we can imagine the droll Elizabeth or prickly Prince Philip saying ("Sleeping in the streets and pulling out their hair for someone they never knew. And they think WE'RE mad!").
Mirren doesn't normally look much like Elizabeth II. She's younger, taller, and prettier. But with some padding and makeup, she manages to BECOME Elizabeth II. She's dignified, haughty, yet Mirren manages to bring across that she's bewildered and vulnerable as well. In short, she makes her version of Elizabeth II a person.
She's also backed by magnificent performances by Sheen and James Cromwell. Cromwell is excellent as the crotchety, stubborn Prince Philip, who thinks the best way to deal with grief is to go hunting. And Sheen is very good as the Prime Minister who is just starting his work, and who gains a new perspective on the royals.
"The Queen" is a unique, quietly compelling film, as it explores what might have happened within the royal family -- and the person that Queen Elizabeth might be, underneath the royal mask.
Movie Review: Helen Mirren as "Queen Elizabeth II". Brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie begins on the Election Day of May 1, 1997. The Labour Party wins the victory with 418 seats making Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) the new and youngest ever, Prime Minister.
The story forwards to the tragic night of August 30, 1997 in Paris when Princess Diana was in a fatal car accident.
From then on, it becomes a matter of The Queen carrying out her duties in the upmost proper way, the only way she knows how, verses, Prime Minister Tony Blair's suggestions according to what he has read in the tabloids and he feels what the British people want. The Queen is more concerned about protecting Prince William and Prince Henry during this time of mourning and grief, but publicly the Queen is being accused of not showing any remorse or making any public statement at all about the unexpected death of her grandchildren's mother, Lady Diana, who according to the Royal Family is no longer a member of Royalty since her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996.
Also in the cast: James Cromwell, Sylvia Sims, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam.
Archive Footage of: Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed, Earl Charles Spencer, Elton John, Tom Hanks, Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger Camilla Parker-Bowles, Luciano Pavarotti, Steven Spielberg, Tracey Ullman and many more.
Helen Mirren portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II is brilliant. It is as if you are watching the Queen. Now that is good acting. Helen Mirren was totally absored in the role. Just the slightest facial expression or movement of her elbow adds to the performance.
Helen Mirren won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
I have no way of knowing how accurate this dramatization is, but I am sure alot of research went into the making of this film.
Special Features: The making of... (19 min.).
2 Audio Commentaries, 1. Director Stephen Frears & writer Peter Morgan. 2. British Historian & Royal Expert Robert Lacey.(This one is better)
Helen Mirren has also played "Queen Elizabeth I" in the 2005 tv miniseries on the same name. Elizabeth I.
Michael Sheen also plays "Tony Blair" in The Deal (2003-tv) and The Special Relationship (2010-tv). Directed by Stephen Frears.
You might also want to check out the tv docu-drama, The Queen (2009-tv), starring Emila Fox, Samantha Bond, Susan Jameson, Barbara Flynn and Dana Quick, all as Queen Elizabeth II through various times and ages of her life.
Movie Review: The Queen: Helen Mirren's most compelling screen performance!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Queen, the critically acclaimed film by British director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Peter Morgan, came out DVD on April 24, 2007. The film stars Dame Helen Mirren in the role of her career, which earned her the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, for her flawless portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. The film is set in 1997, covering the aftermath of the sudden death of Princess Diana. Diana's death occurred a few months after Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) settles into his new position as the head of government for the United Kingdom. During a time of national crisis, the British public was leaving acres of flowers in the gates of Buckingham Palace and grieving for the loss of their "people's princess." They were particularly enraged with the royal family for not showing any signs of remorse or sympathy toward the loss of their beloved Princess Diana. Initially, the queen forbids any members of the royal family to publicly speak about Diana's death and insists that Diana's funeral be treated as a private matter. Other members of the royal family handle Diana's death similarly; Prince Philip (James Cromwell) takes William and Harry, Diana's two sons, deer-hunting every day after their mother's death to pre-occupy their minds with something else. The Queen Mother (Sylvia Syms), agrees with Prince Philip and reminds the sovereign to stand up to her beliefs since she took an oath of performing "duty first and self second." The climax of the film takes place when Queen Elizabeth II drives to the forest in a jeep that breaks down while trying to pass through a river. Upon waiting for her mechanic to arrive, she comes across a deer which stares at her directly in the eye. This is the scene where director Stephen Frears humanizes the queen, and in a state of awe, the monarch shows off her inner emotions by shedding tears to acknowledge the animal's natural beauty. This deer is an analogy of the late Princess Diana, who had the same name as Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, and like a deer she was continually being hunted by the paparazzi. The deer encounter has a profound effect on the monarch's future decision-making: She finally gives in to Prime Minister Blair's pressures to make Princess Diana's funeral available to the general public, she asks for the lowering of the flag on top of Buckingham Palace, and lastly, she is persuaded to fly to London to attend Diana's funeral, along with the other members of the royal family. This DVD is recommended for anybody who is interested in seeing the best screen performance by a female actor of 2006 in a role where Mirren showcases her exquisite acting range by playing a powerful, complex and private monarch, in a film that was well-loved by the public and garnered rave reviews by the toughest critics.Movie Review: A Thought Provoking Film
Summary: 5 Stars
There has been a wide discussion of the story of the film so I will not go into a lot of detail in that regard. The Queen is a well acted, thought provoking film. I cannot comment on what might have been left out, was invented or compressed to tell the story of the Royal family in the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana but what we do see rings true with the information that is generally known. The performance by Helen Mirren is Oscar caliber; my test for a performance is how convinced I am that the actor has become the role and Ms. Mirren is Queen Elizabeth II. Indeed, the entire cast is superb. Michael Sheen is terrific as Tony Blair and expresses a good range of emotion dealing sternly with his staff, diplomatically with the Queen and coping with family life. James Cromwell is also good as Prince Philip exhibiting perhaps the ultimate stiff upper lip attitude of the English upper class. Equally good is Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother, who is most concerned, so it seems that Diana's public funeral is being based off her own. Alex Jennings makes an interesting Prince Charles; although he does not look a lot like Charles he worked into his performance the Prince's mannerisms
The audience is treated to what amounts to the daily life of the Queen on summer holiday at the family estate at Balmoral. This otherwise peaceful retreat is interrupted by the death of Princess Diana on August 30, 1997 and becomes a chronological telling of the events that occurs up to her funeral. The film does not take a point-of-view and does not present very much about Princess Diana other than glimpses of her public life, which allows us to focus on how the Royal family dealt with her death. It is going on ten years since the events depicted in the film occurred giving all of us a better perspective on what happened. At the time, the Royal family came under harsh criticism for their perceived lack of reaction to Princess Diana's death; this film provides all sides and allows us to better understand the Queen and her reaction first to the death of the princess and then to the criticism of her conduct.
The episode of the stag in the film is one of the events that may be fictional but it serves to remind us that Princess Diana, like the stag, was hunted for her beauty. The Queen makes this connection in the film and so her attempt to shoo the animal away when she encounters it and her quiet sorrow when he is killed. I think that one comes away with a better understanding of Queen Elizabeth, and one can see the influence of past generations - that of her grandmother Queen Mary - in her attitude toward the public life that she inherited from her father. The Queen is a thought provoking film that needs to be seen.
Movie Review: Long Live Queen Elizabeth II!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is another depressing, yet phenomenal film.
Very quickly, you really need to see this film with hindsight to appreciate it fully.
The film begins with Tony Blair's rise to power. And we can see that Tony's wife does not think much of the queen. (Her translation of the queen's words would probably not be allowed here!)
From here, we see Dianne's fatal accident, and while the queen acknowledges the tragedy, Prince Charles is the only one who feels that Dianne has to be treated with royal respect even though she is an X princess.)
The major plot of this movie is that the royal family has an unprecedented circumstance here. The death of an X princess who was popular. Add to that that Tony Blair is just settling in, and he knows that certain parties are wondering as to the usefulness of the monarchy. (So things are unstable.)
Without going on for too long, her majesty Queen Elizabeth II has legitimate reasons to dislike Dianne. And to complicate things further, she tries to gain control of the situation the way she has in the past. (Remaining unaffected.)
Prince Charles receives gentle treatment in this film. He seems to know 2 major things. (1) For the monarch to survive, it must be willing to be flexible with the times. (2) Even more important, unlike his mother, Charles is aware that the Dianne they knew is NOT the Dianne the majority of people knew.
While the movie is called "The Queen," one could easily argue that the true star is Tony Blair. He's a competent young Prime Minister who agrees with progression, but he also has a respect for traditions as well as the monarchy. While his wife is anti monarchist, Tony knows that England has a need for the monarchy and they (for the most part) want the monarchy: "Spare me the 'off with their heads' routine."
At one point, Tony has to (with some regret) 'strong arm' the Queen to take required action about Dianne. Perhaps the most moving point in this film is when after doing this difficult action, Tony Blair faces down the hostile press and explains that Queen Elizabeth II never wanted this job, that she watched it kill her father King George VI, and that she did the job she never wanted with dignity and grace for almost 50 years.
Tony also reminds the 'wicked press' that Dianne: "...threw everything the queen offered back in her face, and for the past few years dedicated her life 24/7 to destroying everything the queen held dear."
Keeping this final and climactic speech of Tony Blair in mind, makes watching this film a 2nd time all the more interesting.
If you are a fan of English History, you MUST have this film.