The Queen
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Movie Reviews of The Queen
Movie Review: When Tradition and Duty Aren't Enough--A Smart Retelling Of Modern History
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Queen" is an absolutely captivating bit of modern history--one told with much restraint and nuance. Director Stephen Frears has taken a potentially controversial subject--and instead of playing up the unsavory aspects, going for easy emotion, or turning it into a melodrama--he has crafted an intelligent study of tradition, duty and obligation. This is a complicated look into a tragedy that had no precedent but ultimately redefined much of modern England.
Initially, as we meet the Royal family--we see that protocol, rules and tradition dictate their lives. Every meeting, every meal, every interaction has a designated way of being conducted. This is simply the way things are handled, how they've always been handled and how they are supposed to be handled. The death of Princess Diana was not something that could ultimately fit within these prescribed dictates.
Diana, who was divorced form Charles, was no longer a member of the Royal family. In fact, she was seeing someone else. Creating much publicity and speaking openly against the monarchy and for reform, she was a nuisance that had to be addressed frequently. The family, upon hearing of her death, were concerned with the children naturally--but gave little thought to anything else. They felt Diana's death was a private matter for her family. The Queen followed appropriate protocol at all times.
The public never saw that distinction, however--and that's the heart of the picture. Tony Blair, the new prime Minister, correctly gauges the sorrow of the nation. And the drama of the film comes from seeing the Queen recognize just how beloved Diana was, and seeing her people turn on her. She must compromise her values and beliefs to placate the country. She questions what she has always known, and her own validity. It's may be an unsympathetic outward appearance, but every concession takes it's toll on the very foundation of her world.
Helen Mirren is simply stunning as the Queen. Regal and unflinching, she is also deeply human. Betrayed by the very country she has dedicated her life to, there are glimmers of real heartbreak. But she never loses control--this isn't an emotional performance--it's restrained and skillfully underplayed. And there is a surprising amount of humor to this portrait of Elizabeth. Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is also exemplary. He is the film's heart and passion and it's a star-making performance.
Somehow, "The Queen" gets you to understand and empathize with every side of this tragedy. It's greatest asset is its evenhandedness and fairness, and I recommend this as an insightful telling of a history stilled lodged in our memories. KGHarris, 10/06.
Movie Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
I had wanted to see this movie for a long time and finally did last night. This movie held my interest from beginning to end. Helen Mirren deserved her Oscar for her portrayal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
This movie covers Tony Blair's landslide election in 1997 and his first meeting with the Queen. Then we jump to August 30, 1997 when Princess Diana was killed in that infamous car wreck, the aftermath and how the Royal family, especially the Queen, was harshly criticized for not speaking out earlier and trying to comfort her people.
She meant no harm, but truly believed she was doing the right thing by staying at Balmoral and tending to Diana's boys and their emotional needs. She assumed the "people" would expect her to remain silent and out of sight. She couldn't have been more wrong. She truly had no idea the huge impact Diana's death had on her people or people around the world. As Prince Charles says in the film, the Diana they knew and experienced had no connection whatsoever to the public Diana and how the public felt about her. He knew better than anyone how the public felt about Diana, and he knew the awful consequences of ignoring or dismissing that adoration.
As I remember reading in one account at the time that the British people were "delirious" with grief. I, myself, felt deeply grieved and depressed for about two weeks after her death. It hit me hard. I had gotten up in the wee hours to watch Diana's wedding. And I got up early to watch her funeral.
Poor Tony Blair tried to tell the Queen what was going on and what she needed to do, and at first the Queen thought he was just wet behind the ears and clueless about "her" people. Tony Blair comes to admire and respect the Queen, and even feel affection and sympathy for her. Her father became King after his brother King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth's father was never groomed for the throne as his brother had been, and many blamed the stress for his early death. Upon her father's death, Elizabeth ascended to the throne as a young woman. As the Queen's aide tells Mr. Blair, the Queen had not experienced something like this (the furor after Diana's death) since the abdication and she was in shock.
Queen Elizabeth redeems herself in the end, and continues to hold the affection of the British people, as well as Americans and millions around the world. I think this film shows us a stoic, self-contained woman, but a woman who truly wants to have the affection of her subjects and to serve them well.
Movie Review: "Duty first, self second"
Summary: 5 Stars
Helen Mirren won an Academy Award for her performance as Elizabeth II in "The Queen," which depicts the British monarch's reaction to the death of Princess Diana in the summer of 1997. Prime Minister Tony Blair (played brilliantly by Michael Sheen) had just recently been elected at the time of Diana's death, and he was still in the process of determining the best way to forge a successful working relationship with the queen. This film deals with Windsor's fall from grace the week after Diana's death, when the queen refused to follow the prime minister's advice on how to best handle the situation to meet the needs of the grieving British public.
At first the queen refuses to take Blair's advice about making any kind of public statement, preferring to remain silent in hopes that the former Princess of Wales would be laid to rest quickly and quietly, without any fanfare. However, the public's frustration grows and Elizabeth faces opposition from the government as well as from her son Charles (Alex Jennings). Soon it becomes clear that the royal family's inaction may wind up being their ultimate demise, and the queen is forced to come to terms with her own emotions and make one of what was surely many difficult choices during her reign.
I think this film is brilliant. The cast is absolute perfection, and it's very clear why Mirren received an Oscar for her portrayal as a queen struggling to come to terms with her own personal beliefs and the realization that she doesn't always understand the needs of her people. I also appreciated the way the film handled the treatment of Diana herself. Although the plot of the movie revolves around Diana's death, it's handled gracefully and with dignity. Instead of casting an actress to play the princess, the film relied on a steady peppering of news clips showing the real Diana herself, which was thoughtful and effective.
On one hand, "The Queen" depicts a monarchy that is cold and completely out of touch with modern day society. However, although I didn't always agree with Elizabeth's choices, it was easy to sympathize with her position and understand where she was coming from when she made certain decisions. Regardless of her personal feelings toward the late princess, the queen's belief that quiet dignity should be maintained before caving in to public spectacle is a very good point.
I highly recommend this movie to everyone, if for no other reason than that Mirren portrays Elizabeth II with more humanity than most people might believe is possible. This is truly an excellent film.
Movie Review: Mirren is Majesty, indeed
Summary: 5 Stars
Good lord, where to begin. I saw this movie in theatres the second it opened here in Toronto; I wasn't particularly interested in the British Royal Family prior to having seen it and I didn't know much about Helen Mirren at all; I'd only seen her in Calendar Girls, but I thought the subject matter would be interesting and I was curious as to how they'd manage to pull off a depiction of Queen Elizabeth II.
I love this movie. I love everything about this movie, from the writing to the directing to the acting - especially the acting. Michael Sheen is terrific and captures the younger Tony Blair's boyish charm, enthusiasm, and knack for being in touch with what the public wants. James Cromwell and Sylvia Syms were great as Prince Phillip and the late Queen Mum, respectively, and Alex Jennings was adequate as Prince Charles; he at least half-convinced me that he was a whiner, which is what my opinion of Prince Charles was and still is. However, this movie of course belongs to Helen Mirren, who is a goddess of acting. She pefectly captures Queen Elizabeth II's grace, dignity, sense of duty, and dry wit, and manages to convey the sense of bewilderment that one would assume is natural for a person to feel when people who've loved you all your life suddenly hate you for doing what you think is appropriate. Regardless of Queen E's personal feelings about the late Princess Di, she did not stay holed up at Balmoral out of spite; she stayed there because she wanted to keep what was going on private. She doesn't believe in big public displays of emotion and never has, and prior to Princess Diana's death, the British public were by and large all right with that. How was she to know that in the blink of an eye, she was to abandon the way she'd always done things and behave in a manner that she considers to be distasteful?
This is a smart, sharp film, that tries to convey to the audience that no one is perfect, that everyone is human, and that everyone in it tried to do what they thought was right - and it reminds you that people have different ideas of what is right. For Tony Blair, it was obvious that the Queen needed to make more of an effort to convey that she was sad. For Queen E, it never occurred to her to express her feelings (aside from the statement of regret that had already been issued, which the movie does not make clear) in any other manner than was her custom: dignified, quiet, and private. The film is very informative and accurate, and everything about it is elegant and tasteful. Helen Mirren and the entire cast rule.
Movie Review: Exuberant, Dazzling Acting from Helen Mirren, James Cromwell and Michael Sheen......
Summary: 5 Stars
Stephen Frears's "The Queen" is one of the best films of 2006, and undoubtedly among the most intriguing "docudramas" I've been fortunate to come across. It is probably most memorable for Helen Mirren's superb portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, transforming the icy head of the British royal house of Windsor into a remarkably complex, all too human, individual, dedicated to her outmoded notions of loyalty and duty to both her British subjects and her own dysfunctional royal family. Without question, Mirren has truly made this role into one of the crowning achievements of her superb acting career, and it is an achievement that deserves not only the Academy Award nomination that it has earned, but hopefully, the award itself, along with the awards and other honors she has received already. James Cromwell is almost as impressive too, portraying the dour Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh (He reacts to the news of Princess Diana's death by taking her young sons on a series of hunting trips on the vast estate of Balmoral Castle, in Scotland, where the royal family is spending the summer of 1997.) and, so is Michael Sheen as the young British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who's been forced unexpectedly to deal with the first major political crisis of his administration, acting adroitly to serve the interests of both the Crown and the realm. Frears does a magnificient job in probing the internal dissent that's rampant in both the Windsor household and the Prime Minister's office in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death and the unexpected public grief expressed by the British public. He skillfully weaves to and fro from the fictional aspects of this docudrama to actual news footage covering Diana's death, public reaction to it, and finally, the public funeral held in London nearly a week after the automobile accident in Paris which claimed the lives of Princess Diana, her lover, and their limousine driver. Much to their credit, director Stephen Frears and writer Paul Morgan have crafted a memorable cinematic tale that treats respectfully both Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, and yet, still manages to yield a truly memorable, quite sympathetic portrayal of the British monarch from Helen Mirren. Even if you're unfamiliar with the United Kingdom's government or its royal family, you'll still find much to be savored from this fascinating portrait of the House of Windsor and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Not only is "The Queen" among the best films of 2006, but it is also among the most memorable I have enjoyed watching in recent memory.