The Queen
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.94 You Save: $14.05 (94%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Queen
Movie Review: Protocol in the Face of Calamity
Summary: 5 Stars
`The Queen' primarily looks behind the scenes of Buckingham Palace during the crisis of Princess Diana's death. It is an illuminating and comprehensive affair that focuses mainly on the detachment of the Royal family in a time of national grieving. Like many recent pieces of historical fiction, `The Queen,' wisely uses ample footage from real videotape. Diana's death, Britain's mourning, and newscasts intersperse the drama. This works well, and, while some of the screenplay is speculative, they nearly get all of it right. Peter Morgan is a dead ringer as Prime Minister, Blair, and Helen Mirren is more than reminiscent of Elizabeth II. Their rendering of Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) is a bullseye. My only complaint is that, although we see plenty of The Queen's underbelly, her hard-boiled shell is mostly glossed over. Elizabeth II has shown her vulnerability, but she can be much more indomitable than the drama suggests. Perhaps this is presented because they couldn't go too far with this drama. They understandably do try to be fair to the current monarch, even though they present her as grieving more over a slain stag than over any endearment to her estranged daughter-in-law's death. Her grief is at her own perceived tarnished crown. The funeral for her is a private affair. And, here, Blair, who was in tune with the people, properly perceived the Royal Family would miss out on an opportunity to heal the nation. He really has the dilemma, for he must balance the forces of those who wish to keep the Royal Family dignified and those who call to have their monarchy eliminated. He draws from the sentiment of the people and properly eulogizes Diana's death, but balances becoming a laison for an institution he prudently realizes will never be put to death anytime soon.
Besides "great performances" the big draw should be taking in the subplot. The scenes of Princess Di's private interviews, key scenes in her life, and the aftermath of her death provide the most poignant moments. This isn't her movie, however, and it should be judged by the terms it was created. The Queen's perspective brings about its own merits. For who will not be struck about the state of affairs of England by looking upon the turmoil of the UK's most revered institution when it seems to remain aloof and stoic under the calamity of a competing fallen icon. Although they prudently only present the suspect aspects that brought Diana's death, the whole picture becomes a fascinating composite of tragedy and regal isolation.
Movie Review: Random Thoughts on The Queen
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I get into some random, slightly sarcastic, comments - directed at no one in particular and certainly meaning no disrespect to those mentioned - let me say I loved this film. But, I think it's meant for those who appreciate a good Jane Austen book or film - where people think and feel, as opposed to act. Very little seems to happen on the surface, while deeply held feelings bubble underneath.
This film seems very true-to-life, and only reiterates the irony of the events of 'that week' more than I felt at the time. The ultimate irony - which I felt at the time and now more so - is that Diana would have HATED the royal family pulling her back into their fold as much as they hated doing it. She loved her celebrity, without a doubt, and enjoyed the way she overshadowed the 'Establishment.' But I don't think she meant to ever become a part of it again - regardless of the fact that she was the mother of the future king (William). It occurred to me at the time that she would have hated her ex-husband going to France to claim her remains and bring them back to England. Even though her sisters were with Charles, in retrospect, perhaps her brother should have done it.
Some random thoughts:
1) Now we know the answer to the long-standing question 'What DOES she carry in that purse?'. The answer is --- a pen (to update the speech she is eventually talked into making about Diana).
2) What does the Queen use to touch up her nose after a cry? Her Hermes scarf, at least while she's alone in the Scottish countryside after her Land Rover breaks down.
3) Try as I may, I really never 'got' the subplot about the stag. What was it meant to symbolize? The stalking and subsequent death of Diana, the possible extinction of the monarchy...?
4) I was very surprised at the level of anti-monarchy feelings, had no idea Cherie Blair was so blatant.
All the parts are well-cast, especially Helen Mirren; her ability to get inside the skin of Elizabeth II was a wonder. She definitely deserved the Oscar for this performance. I appreciated the sensitivity with which the film dealt with Princes William and Harry, but was a bit surprised at the generous portrayal of Prince Charles and the almost-venomous way Prince Philip was portrayed. All in all, I think the film gives a sympathetic view to the Queen's (and the monarchy's) feelings about the death of Diana.
Movie Review: Mirren, yes...but a word about Michael Sheen's great TB
Summary: 5 Stars
Helen Mirren is getting the requisite kudos for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth. But there's another portrayal in Stephen Frears' excellent film of an equally public figure that is going relatively overlooked: Michael Sheen's spot-on take on Tony Blair. I was totally mesmerized at just how perfectly Sheen had both the look and feel of the unbridled optimism of TB at the outset of his first term. That's key because it's Blair's intuition on the matters at hand here that are instrumental in shaking the Royal Family out of their tone-deaf dismissal of the unfolding events across the country.
It's interesting to see the portrayals here and see how harsh or sympathetic they are (Mirren's Elizabeth is complex and beyond analysis here):
Prince Philip - A devastating take on him
Price Charles - Painted very sympathetically by Alex Jennings, but obviously cowed by his mother
Alastair Campbell - A very positive take on New Labour's wordsmith by Mark Bazeley (I'm a big Campbell fan, so it was good to see the script honor his contributions to Blair's early successes).
Queen Mom - Yikes! Not a very pretty picture
Frears' delicate and respectful approach keeps William and Harry just off the picture.
What will really take you about the movie is this: as many reviewers here note, they found themselves strangely moved and shocked by Diana's death, like she was a member of the family. When those scenes play out here, wow, you'll be quite surprised at the emotions that well up in you. It will happen. Trust me.
Frears - as pitch-perfect movie helmsman - includes the stirring end portion of the eulogy penned and intoned by Charles, Earl of Spencer (Diana's brother). Spencer's speech is generally regarded as one of the finest eulogies ever rendered. It has become a part of British textbooks. Here's the part you hear in the movie:
"I would like to end by thanking God for the small mercies he has shown us at this dreadful time. For taking Diana at her most beautiful and radiant and when she had joy in her private life. Above all we give thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to be able to call my sister, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds."
That will send a chill up your spine when you see it in the theater.
Movie Review: A priceless character study by a brilliant actress
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1997, the world received the shocking news of the sudden death of Princess Diana. This fascinating movie examines the chasm that opened between Queen Elizabeth II and the British public when she underestimated their grief and failed to react to Diana's death in a manner that they deemed appropriate. Caught between queen and subjects is newly elected prime minister Tony Blair (looking about 22 years old, and played to perfection by lookalike Michael Sheen).
When the news of Princess Diana's death in a car crash in Paris reaches England, the prime minister immediately contacts the press with a statement of grief. The royal family, on the other hand, are vacationing in Scotland. Not only do they display no reaction to Diana's death whatsoever, they do not even cut their holiday short and return to Buckingham Palace until they are good and ready. Things continue to get tense as the British public gets no statement or reaction from the royals. The grief-stricken British spontaneously bury the street outside Buckingham Palace in flowers for Diana. The tabloids chronicle their growing animosity towards the queen.
Meanwhile, the Queen sits alone, watching video footage of Diana on television, analyzing Diana's every move with a brooding squint that speaks volumes. She seems jealous, regretful, and deeply puzzled by the "people's princess." Helen Mirren doesn't exactly look like Elizabeth, but she has her mannerisms, her accent, and her dowdy but impeccable wardrobe precisely nailed down. Through Mirren's subtle but powerful performance, you become aware that the queen comes from a different, more stoic generation than did Diana. Like Diana, the queen also served as a symbol of England and its heroic endurance during the Second World War.
Only the prime minister seems to understand the queen's side of things. One of the great pleasures of the movie is seeing him mediate between the queen and her subjects, attempting to repair the growing rift.
Every great character study has an unforgettable scene: the one in this movie is where Tony Blair after having been voted into office still must observe the tradition of going to see the queen and asking her to accept him as her prime minister. He does this, and she - in a priceless exchange invoking the memory of Winston Churchill - puts him firmly in his place. You've got to laugh, and marvel at both great performances.
Movie Review: Fabulous
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh, I loved this movie! It was so interesting, with such wonderful acting. I felt like I was sitting in the room with some of the characters, spying on them as they went about their business. The amazing Helen Mirren, while a tad too tall and slim to be 100% convincing, nevertheless pulled it off so well that you sometimes think it's Her Majesty playing herself. Likewise the Tony and Cherie Blair characters. It was an interesting experience watching the actor who played Charles, because I felt he looked nothing like Charles, lacking the prominent ears and nose, but he looked eerily like the photos one sees of his great uncle the Duke of Windsor, so it gave a strange feeling of "wrong character, right family." A little prosthesis to the nose and ears of this actor would have placed him in the "right on the money" category as well.
I haven't read any of the reviews yet, but I have a feeling that at least some of them will involve intensive discussion of the obvious emotional retardation of the British Royal family. The hordes of slavish Diana worshippers will no doubt be out in droves to see how their icon is portrayed. I was pleased to see that this movie was a well-balanced and fair representation of the interests of all parties concerned. It showed all facets of the participants: the antiquated, repressive atmosphere of an ancient lineage that has no clue as to how outmoded it is, how out of touch with modern life it is, and how much damage they've done to the lives of all who come in contact with them, is neatly juxtaposed with its portrayal of a woman who knows no other way but how she has been raised, and is a basically decent person who has devoted her life to the people she feels she was born to reign over. It also portrays Diana fairly, the young and lovely woman thrown into a situation she was not ready for, the gracious princess who served the world with compassion and humour, the wonderful mother who gave her sons a decent foundation was fairly balanced with Diana as a neurotic, needy, somewhat histrionic jetsetter who used the press for her own gains and then ended up dying almost at their hands. The movie shows the people involved as they really are, the best and the worst of them, real, three-dimensional, multi-faceted human beings. It's a wonderful experience and worth every one of the awards that it is sure to garner.