Queen of Harts (The Queen (DVD))

Member Name: l-m-n-o-p

Product:	The Queen (DVD)
Date:	26/07/07 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The performances of the whole cast; subtle and powerful

Disadvantages: Perhaps a bit pro-monarchy

One of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning films of last year was Stephen Frears’s The Queen, starring the Oscar, Bafta and pretty much every other award-winning Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II.

The film begins with the election of 1997, when Tony Blair (played here by Michael Sheen) became PM for the first time. We watch as he nervously conducts his first meeting with the queen, in which she has to formally ask him to become Prime Minister and all that official stuff.

The film then moves forward to Sunday 31st August 1997, which everyone over a certain age will remember was the day when Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed were killed in the Paris car crash. Saddened, but hardly grief-stricken, the Royal Family (Prince Phillip played by James Cromwell, the Queen Mother by Sylvia Sym and Prince Charles by Alex Jennings) decide to mourn privately and with dignity, which is what the Queen presumes the country expects from her.

However, she has misjudged completely the public’s mood. The masses of well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace, spurred on by tabloid headlines, begin to call for a public display of grief from the Queen. When she refuses, the situation becomes tense and the public turn against her. According to the media, a quarter of all Britons at that point wanted to get rid of the monarchy.

In steps Tony Blair, who has to act as a kind of mediator between the Royals and the press and the public. At first, he and Cherie aren’t too fussed about defending the Queen (he’s been accused of using the tragedy to boost his own popularity, following his “The People’s Princess” speech). But as he spends more time around her, Mr Blair, and the audience, begins to see the Queen as a misunderstood scapegoat, with her own set of morals.

Although The Queen is obviously going to be more enjoyable if you have an interest in the monarchy or the events surrounding Princess Diana’s death, this film is definitely worth watching even if you don’t. I’m perhaps too young to remember that defining week clearly, or at least to understand the issues that were happening, and I’m not particularly interested in the Royals either, but I was still intrigued and moved by this film.

This is, for the most part, down to Helen Mirren’s subtle and exquisite performance. Her critical achievements last year speak for themselves; you don’t need me to tell you that she’s fantastic as Her Majesty. I was surprisingly touched in some scenes, for example when she looks at the flowers and messages left by the crowds, some of which are really hurtful, by the way she remains strong and dignified.

In contrast with these quietly emotional scenes, there are also many moments of humour, whether it’s Michael Sheen’s excellent impression of Tony Blair (maybe not perfect looks-wise, but his voice is spot on), or the weary cynicism of the Duke of Edinburgh, or the way the film portrays the family’s normal-ness (we see the Queen sitting in her pink dressing gown watching the telly).

The screenplay, from top-writer-of-the-moment Peter Morgan, is very good indeed - witty, funny and insightful, it dares to examine what really went on behind the scenes that week and take a look at it from the Queen’s perspective. At times it becomes perhaps a little too pro-royalist and portrays her all too glowingly, but for the most part it blames all parties for the stand-off, rather than taking sides.

The film also looks very nice, and the Oscar-nominated score from Alexandre Desplat is great - like the film in general, it varies from light-hearted and comedic to more emotional, but subtle at the same time.

I also thought it was very well put together, in that it features lots of original footage of events from the time, combined with reconstructions of certain speeches and then Morgan’s own take of what was happening behind the scenes. They all combined in a natural way, rather than the archive footage feeling stuck on afterwards. You might also think that a film that’s all talk and no action might be slightly boring - not a bit of it; I was gripped throughout, mostly thanks to Helen Mirren.

Overall, I think that The Queen is a very good film, but perhaps not really deserving of the Bafta for Best Picture (Pan’s Labyrinth and Little Miss Sunshine were better in my opinion). Maybe it’s just because I’m not really that interested in the film’s subject matter - if you remember it well, you’re clearly at an advantage. Either way, it’s worth watching for Mirren’s marvellous performance, and because she and Frears really do make you care.
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You can pick up The Queen for £11.89 from www.choiceuk.com

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Starring:

Helen Mirren … Queen Elizabeth II
Michael Sheen … Tony Blair
James Cromwell … Prince Phillip
Sylvia Sym … Elizabeth I
Alex Jennings … Prince Charles
Helen McCrorie … Cherie Blair

Classification: 12A (brief strong language)

Running time: 103 minutes

Year: 2006

My rating: 8/10

Summary: A film fit for a queen