Review of The Queen (2006) by Rocco C — 06 Apr 2013

What a enjoyable and intimate picture depicting the struggles Queen Elizabeth II faced as she failed to come to terms with the death of one of the Royals' most popular and controversial figures of the day. The Death of Princess Diana had nonetheless shocked and angered the world - and indeed the Queen too. Because of her royalty and position, the picture questions whether, because of royalty, is she excluded from the private pain that is grief and hardships that we are all too familiar with? The picture is about our Queen and how, like each and every one of her subjects, is a real person too.

The picture follows the Queen's reaction to the death of her former daughter-in-law and, without question, Mirren captures Queen Elizabeth's mannerisms, voice and style with such ease and originality. Her often one raised-eyebrow with a tilted head look is seen throughout the picture truly embodies the charming, yet surprisingly, amusing nature of the most power monarch in the world. Mirren's portrayal of a much-loved woman made her the front-runner for the Oscar for Best Actress even before nominations were announced. And this isn't surprising, the shear presence of Mirren as she first hits the screen in the opening credits with her tightly-coiled grey perm, bright-red lipstick and daring frown easily illuminates the Queen's image as a cultural icon and Mirren as a, now, screen legend. Truly a time where Mirren's acting abilities was able to materialize, and with her handful of Emmys for Prime Suspect, her possible-Broadway debut playing - you guessed it - our dearest Liz she is surely a contender for the Tony Award, thus, giving her a good chance at "EGOT" glory.

The supportive - if not leading performance - of Britain's newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair has been well-received by critics and reviewers alike; myself not an exception. Blair played by Welshman Michael Sheen captures the "modernizer" at the outset of his premiership to him, actually, not giving a damn where he offends the monarch, but more importantly what is the best for the nation. Sheen in his BAFTA-nominated performance captures the almost youthful Blair as well as his radical attempts to contemporize Britain - much to the worry of the Queen. Interestingly, the picture conveyed the Queen's reluctant trust in Blair despite being in the early days of his premiership. As the Queen realizes it is wise to listen to his recommendations, she is overwhelmed by the extensive floral tributes and support from her subjects. I think this picture shows, more importantly, the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair and how, at first, it wasn't a pleasant one, to then her realizing that actually this modernizer "ain't that bad at all".

A touching and deep moment I felt summed up the series of events that unfolded over that very surreal summer of 1997. When she reiterates Mr Blair's argument that the Royals simply need to be seen by the public because recent polls indicate that 25% of the British public are now in favour of a republic, her tender and tear-provoking words "I've never been this hated before" truly sums up one of the hardest times of her reign and how, represented, the poor decisions she made in the immediate aftermath of Diana's death.