Review of The Queen (2006) by Rev.r. — 03 Feb 2007

For those only desiring exposure to the factual events following Diana's death, this is an outstanding movie and a monumental opportunity missed regarding human nature. Helen Mirren doesn't just act as the queen, she becomes the queen incarnate.

Her performance should earn her an Oscar. Her character represents what happens to all of us over time. The values instilled in the formative years of life become so institutionalized they define who we are and dictate how we feel, or in this case, deny our emotions.

Stephen Frears unveils over a week in the life of the monarchy a queen who feels far more deeply than her subjects can imagine. Mirren portrays the Queen as she is: a complex woman who is not easily pigeonholed.

The viewer cannot determine if she feels the pain of Britain's grief over the loss of Diana, or the pain of rejection by her people. Frears powerfully employs a single moment in the wild to expose a queen who desperately wants to feel alive; yet it is obvious she feels emotionally disconnected, dead.

Frears' use of imagery throughout the movie if profound; but especially in the events folllowing that moment in the wild,: the head of the nation has become disconnected. James Cromwell embodies that dispassionate death, spewing his narcissistic view of the world like a spitting cobra.

Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Blair does an adequate job but is forced into the shadows by Mirren's performance. Still, Fears allows the natural course of events to set up a dramatic, and at times humorous contrast of Blair and the Queen.

As the monarchy to which she has devoted her life suddenly reveals its impotence when faced with the raw emotion of grief, thus leaving the Queen confused and unprotected behind the walls of Balmoral and Buckingham Palace, Blair who began the week as the victorious progressive begins to deeply appreciate the value of Britain's history and tradition.

Frears has given us a movie that reminds us that we need tradition, to know from where we've come; but, never to the point that the tradition becomes and end unto itself. The monarchy and its tradition is to serve her people especially in moments of pain and uncertainty.

Therefore, Diana's death to Frears was not without meaning. It became the instrument through which England's two most powerful leaders discovered that truth.