Review of A Royal Affair (2012) by Foxgrove — 11 Dec 2012

A Royal Affair is quite simply the best historical costume drama that I have seen for years. This is what one hopes for every time from this type of film and all to often what one gets is the debacle of something like 'The Affair of the necklace'.

An unknown (to myself) period of history comes to life in the three areas that matter in a film like this. The acing of the three leads is fantastic with special praise going to Mikkel Boe Folsgaard as the king on the edge of sanity.

His performance in a supporting role is the best of this year. The design and costumes are truly beautiful, and last but by no means least the writing where most films of this ilk fall down badly. Not here, however.

The story is propelled onwards and upwards by intelligent dialogue delivered with expert precision by the entire cast. At the moment it seems to me that the Danes have cornered the market in quality entertainment, not only in film, but also on tv where their output is also of an extremely high standard of late (Borgen; The Killing; The Bridge to name a few).

See A Royal Affair at all costs as it is a gem of a film that has almost slipped by un noticed due to its minuscule release. If you like well acted and beautifully written period dramas about royalty you won't be disappointed.