Review of The Queen (2006) by Jason W — 06 Jan 2010

Shortly after the election of Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) to the position of Prime Minister, Princess Diana was killed in a horrific car accident. As the British public clamors for an open memorial for the woman Prime Minister Blair called "The People's Princess", Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) chooses to keep everything private, taking her grandsons to Balmoral Castle to help them in their time of loss. Without any word from the royal family though, the British people become angered, and are soon close to calling for the dissolution of the crown.

Princess Diana's death was a very tragic event that led to a sense of lost amongst people the world over. It's no secret that Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Di did not get along, especially when considering the fact that Diana was not quiet about her former husband's, Prince Charles, infidelity among other things and was dating a Muslim. Shortly before Diana's death, Tony Blair was elected to the position of Prime Minister, and while things looked somewhat smooth, no one could have expected the hardships he was about to go through in dealing with what became something of a national crisis. Depicting a situation like this isn't an easy task for film, so how did Stephen Frears do with his movie The Queen?

Amazingly! With a script written by Peter Morgan (Frost/ Nixon, The Damned United, The Last King of Scotland, etc.) which is actually the second in something of a series starring Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, The Queen is not only a look at the inner workings of the British government in a time of crisis, but is also a look at the differences between the branches of government and the way they think. Throughout the movie you see that the Queen and the royal family are very old school, choosing to hide emotion and mourn in private rather than display their feelings to the world. They also don't believe that Diana should be mourned on a public level since she no longer was a member of the royal family. Then you have Tony Blair who wants to move the government in a new direction, and can't believe the way the royal family is handling this: with a lack of warmth in their proceedings. You see Blair trying his best to do what he can for a family that, from the outside, doesn't appear to want to do anything for itself. Working off interviews from unnamed sources within the queen's employ and staffers who worked with Blair, Morgan crafts a script that catches the nuances of the inner workings of the government in this type of situation.

To really bring this out, you really need great acting, and in Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II you completely see the struggles, differences, and even similarities between these two figures. As Queen Elizabeth II, Helen Mirren shows you a woman who is strong and solid in her ways but also worries about her position in the history of the monarchy. Mirren's performance is truly the tour de force of the film, but one also can't count out Michael Sheen's portrayal of Prime Minister Blair. You see Blair as a man trying to lead Britain into a new era, and sees things differently with the monarchy, but still holds the monarchy in high regard. As the people start to turn on the monarchy you see him as a man who is, not trying to tell the monarchy what to do, but trying to help the monarchy through a crisis into a better position in the court of public opinion, and Sheen masterfully embodies this.

Never does the movie take a position as to whether the monarchy is good or bad, outdated or what Britain needs at this time. It doesn't examine Princess Diana's life, or who was at fault in her death. A masterful feat for the director, the movie really just examines the monarchy and the British government in this day and age through this crisis. On top of that, the eye for attention to detail is amazing. You see the difference between the settings where the monarch lives and the lower levels of the government reside, and the images of the country side at Balmoral Castle, and the views of the castle interior are breathtaking. Accomplishing this kind of movie in this day and age is a great achievement.

If you're a fan of films dealing with history, or the inner workings of government, particularly the British government I highly recommend this film. With superb acting, directing, and writing this film shows what any film dealing in this nature of material should really be like.

5/5.