Review of The Queen (2006) by Johannes P — 08 Aug 2010

As of this writing, [i]The Queen[/i] is the best reviewed movie of 2006 in this site with 98% rating. Is it justified? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. It manages to make the royal family seem more? human, if that is the right term. We expect them to be uptight, unemotional and cold?and they were?but, the Queen said it best that it was how she and her generation was brought up, and maybe it?s time to modernize the kingdom.

The acting by Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen are stupendous. I especially admire the casting of Michael Sheen since his look are very much like Tony Blair in the movie, I keep thinking if Tony Blair had a summer break and decided to jump into acting. Of course, the buzz about Helen Mirren?s performance are absolutely true, she deserved an Oscar for her remarkable portrayal of the Queen; making her more accessible (I?m surprised she drove her own jeep?is that really true in real life? Wow!) and one realize that she was just a regular human being, just like you and me. She can cry, she can be upset, she can laugh and she can be cynical at times.

As a fictionalized account of the Royal Family during the week of Princess Diana?s death, it works because the viewers are treated like an observer of the royal family; we all see the television news, the papers, the media, but who knew what really happened behind closed doors? And now, we get some kind of an idea?albeit fiction?and succeeds in portraying the royal family as people who makes mistakes and miscalculations, and trying to amend the mistakes they have made.