The Queen is another film that has multiple Oscar nominations this year. It is up for Best Actress (Helen Mirren), Costume Design (Consolata Boyle), Director (Stephen Frears), Original Score (Alexandre Desplat), Original Screenplay (Peter Morgan), and Best Picture. Six nominations are more than enough to pique interest for many viewers; that it adds a human side to a figure many know little about is a bonus.
The Queen in question is Queen Elizabeth II and the film follows the British Royals in the days following Princess Diana’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997. The Queen details the struggle to maintain balance between being a very public figure yet a very private individual. It also shows how sometimes protocol needs to be thrown out the window in order to salvage dignity and honor.
The Queen could have easily been portrayed as a gossipy spectacle of a film, but instead showed two sides of the same event: that of the Royal Family and that of the public. Instead of scenes of public grandeur, The Queen told the story through personal vignettes establishing a sense of intimacy. The film also gives just enough details to explain why what may have been an easy choice for the public to demand wouldn’t be so easy for Queen Elizabeth II to provide.
Stephen Frears has a talent for making films displaying the conflicts in the British class system, and what could display those better than the Queen of England, the highest of the British Upper Class, and Tony Blair, the leader of the very Middle Class? Mixing the reactions of Queen Elizabeth with those of the Prime Minister and his cabinet help set the tone of conflict without needing to say it. And that is the biggest strength of The Queen.
The true beauty of the film is the power of understatement. Helen Mirren’s performance as Queen Elizabeth II is through small nuances that show how human she is: she drives her own Range Rover, leads her dogs around, and admires the beauty of the 14-point stag on her Balmoral grounds. These touches help the audience see the struggle the Queen must have endured between maintaining the stoic tradition she believes in and acknowledging the public’s grief.
However for those who aren’t Anglophiles, The Queen could be quite boring. It is a slower paced character piece with a lot of sweeping silent shots. While the film is beautifully shot, the English countryside may not be enough to win the affections of a large audience. But even those who find themselves bored with the film will not be able to deny Helen Mirren’s performance is spectacular.
Article comments
1 - MCH
I found a lot of the stuff pretty interesting, things you just sort of never speculate on. I did think the scenario of her driving around in her land rover and getting stuck was kind of unique. The relationship between the queen and the new prime minister was intriguing.
2 - Rusty
Here's another review if you want to read more: