Film Review: the Queen
Having previously directed DIRTY PRETTY THINGS and MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS Stephen Frears is again in top form with his new film THE QUEEN who toplines Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II and tells the story during the year in which Princess Diana was killed in an automobile accident presumably by fault of the paparazzi.
The story is less about the tragedy of Princess Diana and more about the effects it had on the Royal family and the Royal family’s reaction to the tragic event and how the whole debacle influenced an entire nation and in parts the international world. Presenting “the peoples’” outlook on the whole incident is newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) who must both balance the traditional expectations of the Royal family with those of a more modern public who doesn’t adhere to the established traditions.
Writer Peter Morgan nicely contrasts the Royal family’s “life” with those of her people not only through actual and re-created footage of the time but also with Blair who is caught in the middle between the Queen’s stubborn adherence to a archaic governmental system and the outcry of the public (especially through his relationship with his wife).
Mirren is phenomenal as the Queen as if she was born into the role. Sheen also does an amazing job being the only person with enough balls to stand up to the Queen of England in order to help her see “the light.” THE QUEEN is one of the few films that make you truly believe that you are watching what really goes on behind closed doors in the Royal home.
An independent filmmaker who writes screenplays and articles mostly in the entertainment fields.
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