The Queen (A or 4/4 stars)
'The Queen' is a biographical dramedy directed by Stephen Frears. In 1997, Princess Diana of Wales died in a car crash. This film suggests what may have occurred behind closed doors btwn. Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) & new Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) in the week following her untimely death. While the Queen & her family retreat to Balmoral castle in Scotland, the country mourns for Diana and wonders why the Royal Family are in hiding. It's up to Blair & his camp to cajole the Queen to make a public appearance before her country turns their back on the monarchy. It's a story of history, politics & scandal. Mirren & Sheen are fantastic. And Frear's ability to let us sneak a peek into the relationship between the monarchy, the government, and its people ... is fascinating.
Before Diana's death, we're shown the first meeting between the Queen & the Prime Minister. It's awkward because modernist Blair and his wife (in particular) have a playful, almost disdainful attitude towards meeting the severe Queen. The pompous, ritualistic protocol that he endures while meeting her brings some rather humorous moments to the beginning of the film. Following the tragedy, the Royal Family makes every excuse to avoid any public concern over Diana's death. Elizabeth, Prince Philip (James Cromwell), & the Queen Mum (Sylvia Sims), honestly believe that the focus of the week should be on Diana's children. The Spencer Family initially requests a private funeral. And flying a flag at half-mast on Buckingham Palace would not be stood for because Diana was not royal, anyway. Why 'should' the Royals make a fuss? That seems to be their point of view; and it doesn't hurt that they couldn't stand Diana in the first place. What they did not realize, would be that the entire country and world would demand a public funeral & beseech the Royal family to give a shit; which they clearly don't.
Will Tony Blair be successful in changing the staunch minds of the Royals? Blair does not want to see the history of the monarchy go down in flames. Heck, the tabloids were depicting her as something just short of the Devil, itself. So what if he thinks the Royals are unsympathetic & ignorant. Sure, it all makes him look like a temporary hero. But he still respects & ultimately defends the Queen. Is the Queen all that heartless? She is conflicted. And by the film's end, Frears goes to all lengths to portray the Queen as earthy & emotional as possible. We are able to feel her inner struggle to maintain Godly dignity, yet also please her eager public. Really, this is a story of he say, she say, on the events of the week following Diana's death.
Many aspects of the film are great. The wit & humor intertwined with the drama is believable. Some of the wit? Watching Prince Philip legitimize why he & the grandkids must go stag hunting rather than bother with their mother's death is mind-boggling & chuckle-worthy. The care given to Diana's death is evident. And the precise dramatizations & recreations of interviews, reel footage, and memorials are impressive. It's amazing to relive the vigils, the flowers, the messages, the tears. It's hard to tell which is real & which was re-created for the film. All of the actors lend a great deal to these scenes. The cinematography, set designs & musical score are highly refined. But it is the script that makes the movie. Some of this film is factual, some is fiction. We believe every bit of dialogue & consequence.
I echo my fellow critic, Kevin Lawlor, in saying that Helen Mirren may rightly win an Oscar. Her portrayal of the Queen is subtle, dignified, suppressed, stoic, yet loving (specifically to her motherless grandchildren). Her fight to remain authoritative, yet modernize her frame of mind is what she (and this movie) is all about. There's one scene where she is stranded in the countryside with nothing to do but contemplate the severity of the situation at hand. And amid all of the turmoil surrounding her decisions to ignore Diana's death, we feel sympathetic towards her as she weeps -- it is my favorite scene. Mirren carries the movie like a champion, & it is fascinating to see what the British Royals may be like. They're not robots. It's nice to see them in action, rather than waving their hands, nodding their heads, stepping in-&-out of horse-&-buggy or whatever vehicle they are carried in at the time.
Before Diana's death, we're shown the first meeting between the Queen & the Prime Minister. It's awkward because modernist Blair and his wife (in particular) have a playful, almost disdainful attitude towards meeting the severe Queen. The pompous, ritualistic protocol that he endures while meeting her brings some rather humorous moments to the beginning of the film. Following the tragedy, the Royal Family makes every excuse to avoid any public concern over Diana's death. Elizabeth, Prince Philip (James Cromwell), & the Queen Mum (Sylvia Sims), honestly believe that the focus of the week should be on Diana's children. The Spencer Family initially requests a private funeral. And flying a flag at half-mast on Buckingham Palace would not be stood for because Diana was not royal, anyway. Why 'should' the Royals make a fuss? That seems to be their point of view; and it doesn't hurt that they couldn't stand Diana in the first place. What they did not realize, would be that the entire country and world would demand a public funeral & beseech the Royal family to give a shit; which they clearly don't.
Will Tony Blair be successful in changing the staunch minds of the Royals? Blair does not want to see the history of the monarchy go down in flames. Heck, the tabloids were depicting her as something just short of the Devil, itself. So what if he thinks the Royals are unsympathetic & ignorant. Sure, it all makes him look like a temporary hero. But he still respects & ultimately defends the Queen. Is the Queen all that heartless? She is conflicted. And by the film's end, Frears goes to all lengths to portray the Queen as earthy & emotional as possible. We are able to feel her inner struggle to maintain Godly dignity, yet also please her eager public. Really, this is a story of he say, she say, on the events of the week following Diana's death.
Many aspects of the film are great. The wit & humor intertwined with the drama is believable. Some of the wit? Watching Prince Philip legitimize why he & the grandkids must go stag hunting rather than bother with their mother's death is mind-boggling & chuckle-worthy. The care given to Diana's death is evident. And the precise dramatizations & recreations of interviews, reel footage, and memorials are impressive. It's amazing to relive the vigils, the flowers, the messages, the tears. It's hard to tell which is real & which was re-created for the film. All of the actors lend a great deal to these scenes. The cinematography, set designs & musical score are highly refined. But it is the script that makes the movie. Some of this film is factual, some is fiction. We believe every bit of dialogue & consequence.
I echo my fellow critic, Kevin Lawlor, in saying that Helen Mirren may rightly win an Oscar. Her portrayal of the Queen is subtle, dignified, suppressed, stoic, yet loving (specifically to her motherless grandchildren). Her fight to remain authoritative, yet modernize her frame of mind is what she (and this movie) is all about. There's one scene where she is stranded in the countryside with nothing to do but contemplate the severity of the situation at hand. And amid all of the turmoil surrounding her decisions to ignore Diana's death, we feel sympathetic towards her as she weeps -- it is my favorite scene. Mirren carries the movie like a champion, & it is fascinating to see what the British Royals may be like. They're not robots. It's nice to see them in action, rather than waving their hands, nodding their heads, stepping in-&-out of horse-&-buggy or whatever vehicle they are carried in at the time.