Review of The Queen (2006) by Mathias S — 30 Jan 2011

This is a good film, elevated by 2 fantastic performances, by Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. Mirren is so good, that upon watching the actual footage of some aspects of this story, she was a dead ringer for the real Queen.

A very dignified performance, subtle and restrained but powerful nonetheless. Sheen will one day have a Best Actor of his own if there's any justice in the world, as the man is superb. His newly elected British PM Blair is a fantastic balance of the modern Labour man (who's wife is over the top anti-monarchist and turns you off her character rather quickly) looking to make changes to the country, and a man who sees what Diana's death has done to the country and the royals.

The strength of his performance is that he comes to regard the Queen in higher esteem because of the way things happen, because it shows him just how much Elizabeth cares about her subjects, and shows his support to the monarchy when it would have been so much easier to distance himself and gain even more popularity.

Playing real life figures can be difficult, but both Mirren and Sheen shine. James Cromwell as Prince Phillip just comes across as a grumpy old crumudgeon who doesn't give a shit about things. A Solid film, made great by it's 2 main characters.