The Queen
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk
“Will someone please save these people from themselves!”
Director Stephen Frears ( Mrs Henderson Presents , Dangerous Liasons ) has never been one to shy away from the difficult subjects. In a year where other directors were making 9/11 movies such as United 93 and World Trade Center ; Frears wasn’t about to be outdone, The Queen takes us behind the scenes at the house of Windsor, and covers one of the most important turning points in our monarch’s reign – the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales.
Stephen Frears has managed to create a remarkable movie that doesn’t just follow events in the traditional biopic fashion, but instead transports the viewer to Balmoral and gives us a glimpse of the Queen and the Royal Family that very few of us have ever seen. Taking us into the home of a Queen and family intransigent in dealing with Diana’s death and committed to following tradition and ceremony against all popular advice…oblivious to the outpouring of emotion in that difficult week in August 1997.
At the heart of the film lie the relationships between The Queen (
Helen Mirren) and her family and the Queen and Tony Blair. Frears puts us in the Queen’s rather remarkable shoes as he contrasts the relationship she has with her own family, with the relationship between herself and Tony Blair. The traditionalists such as her husband Prince Phillip (
James Cromwell ) and the Queen Mother (
Sylvia Syms) are against the Queen expressing her grief to the people (breach of protocol) while newly elected (and at that time popular!) Prime Minister, Tony Blair (
Michael Sheen ) believes that the Queen needs to open up more to the public and it is he who is ultimately responsible for convincing her to change direction, therefore preventing the monarchy from destroying itself.
Frears contrasts the points of view of both parties to help us to understand why the Queen made the decisions she did immediately after Diana’s death. Frears is decidedly unjudgemental, not forcing his view over whether the Queen is making the right choices or not, but simply providing us with an insight into why she did what she did so we can make up our own minds. This is truly masterful filmmaking.
Rather understandably, most of the attention lavished on The Queen has been directed at Helen Mirren’s OSCAR® winning performance. While this is understandable, it is important to point out that the other supporting actors in this project have also put in career defining performances - From American character actor James Cromwell’s gruff, hunting-obsessed portrayal of Prince Phillip to
Alex Jennings’ scheming Prince Charles and Michael Sheen’s newly elected Tony Blair; the entire cast are perfect in their roles.
But as you would expect, it is impossible to talk about The Queen without talking about Dame Helen Mirren. It is Dame Helen Mirren that makes The Queen what it is. Mirren puts in the performance of her life as Elizabeth II, matching not only our sovereign’s appearance and mannerisms but also making us feel as though we are getting a real insight into one of the most powerful women in the world.
As the third Queen that Mirren has played on screen in recent years (the others being in
Elizabeth I ,
The Madness of King George ); Mirren masterfully portrays both the royal authority of office that one would expect from our Queen but also a vulnerability that has rarely been witnessed. Mirren’s performance is truly something to behold, and it is good to see that she has finally been honoured after decades of top notch performances, taking home both an
OSCAR® and a BAFTA®. Her performance was also instrumental in The Queen winning Best Film at the 2007 BAFTA® awards.
An unmissable movie, rich in detail and perfect in almost every way; Stephen Frears has taken great care to maintain as much accuracy and detail as possible – from the portrayal of the royals and their advisers at Balmoral to the people in the background at Downing Street (Alistair Campbell anyone?). This is a perfect film - simply superb! Add this to your list now.
Also Try:
Elizabeth I
The Madness of King George
Elizabeth