The Queen (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing The Queen
, the story of HM Queen Elizabeth II and how she, and England, dealt with the tragic death of Princess Diana.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I thought this movie was very well done. I think it gives great insight into the royal family and the acting was very good.
How about you?
Scott: I enjoyed seeing the inside of the royal’s lives. It's something you never see and don't understand. This movie made them all human and not just pictures on a page.
Mike: It’s interesting how they focus on basically one week behind the scenes of the royal family and the incoming Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Of course, it is the week that Princess Diana was killed in a car crash.
Scott: It really changed the whole focus of his election. Blair (Michael Sheen) was no longer a single party candidate, but the PM for the whole country.
I've seen Sheen in a couple other movies, most memorable being the Underworld movies. This was by far his best in this movie.
Mike: I didn't recognize him from Underworld. Good catch. I think he does a great job as Blair. It’s amazing how much he makes the Prime Minister seem like just a regular person.
Scott: It was a real eye opener seeing the difference between the royals and him. His home life was completely normal, wife and kids and supper in the kitchen, just like everyone else.
Mike: It helped contrast how far removed the royals were from everyday people.
Scott: The Queen was always wearing different outfits, never looked bad and was always given a wide path.
Mike: Speaking of the Queen, the real standout in this movie is Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth.
I have already been reading Oscar talk about her performance and I have to agree, it was first rate.
Scott: I read an interview with her and she said it was intimidating to be the Queen, but she really pulled it off. Not only that, she brought a sense of life to the role, one that I have never seen in real Queen, whom I only know through news coverage.
Mike: I've been impressed with Mirren before, especially in Calendar Girls. In this movie you really believe she is the Queen.
Being a film nerd I remember her going way back to 2010 and Excalibur.
Scott: Good catch for you on Excalibur. Now that you mention it, I can remember her, but I would never have thought of that.
She carries herself like the Queen. It's funny, but they made sure that even the little things of being a Queen, or being around one were accurate. You just never understand that there is a whole set of rules just for being in her presence.
Mike: Yes and the thing that made me smile is that she carries her handbag around inside the house. Which is just like in photographs I have seen.
Scott: I liked her interaction with the dogs. She has two different types of dogs around her in the movie and she seems to really enjoy them. I would never think royalty would like dogs, especially starchy clothed Queens.
Mike: Actually, the thing that struck me was that she insisted on driving her old Land Rover herself when she was on her Balmoral Estate.
There are some great touches in the movie that help humanize her.
Scott: Speaking of the Balmoral Estate, that was huge! I think they said 20,000 acres or something. It was beautiful as well.
Mike: I like the way the movie blends in real footage from 1997, that helps make this seem as if this must be the way it really happened. Every time they showed Diana in the film, it was actual footage of her.
Scott: They also had news footage with anchors from that time period. I thought that helped the movie to show the perspective of the normal citizen of Britain and the world.
Mike: There is also quite a bit of real footage of mourners outside Buckingham Palace and of the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Scott: We also learn that the Queen is rigid in her role and her duties. Diana was no longer royalty when she was killed, and she was not to be treated as such. No matter what, traditions were to be honored.
Mike: There is real conflict in the way that the royals handle things and the way the British public expected them to act.
Scott: The world had changed since the Queen was last seen out in public at the end of World War II. She didn't really understand that, and throughout the movie she was learning about that change.
Those around her like Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) and her Deputy Private Secretary, Robin Janvrin (Roger Allam), knew she was doing what was expected of her by her people. But they also knew they couldn't argue with her.
Mike: Prince Charles is portrayed as being something of a wimp. It is obvious that his mother is the one in charge.
Scott: I don't know that it's that as much as he is afraid of his Mum.
Mike: Ducking every time he heard a loud noise is wimpy.
Scott: Actually, you are right, I forgot about the constant flinching.
Mike: I think Director Stephen Frears does an excellent job with this story. He directed Judy Dench in a similarly strong role in Mrs. Henderson Presents.
I first noticed him with Dangerous Liaisons, which is the first time I saw Uma Thurman.
Scott: The movie was very well done. As you mentioned earlier, the cutting of the news footage worked really well.
Mike: But if you start to think he only directs high brow British films, remember his film Hi Fidelity with John Cusack.
Scott: Yeah about music snobs…
Mike: I also want to mention some very good writing by Peter Morgan. I'm not really familiar with his work, but his writing is the foundation that makes this a good movie.
Scott: He seems to know how monarchies work.
The story had a really good pace to it and even with a running time of 97 minutes, I felt it didn't leave anything out.
Mike: On the surface when you hear of a movie called The Queen you assume that this will be a very dry, very British movie, but you would be wrong. Even my son Ryan was drawn into the fascinating behind the scenes story.
So how do you rate this movie?
Scott: I liked this movie, much more so than I would have ever thought. I give it a 3.5 overall and a 4 for biographical drama.
And you?
Mike: I was very impressed with the story, the directing and the acting. I give it a 4.5 overall and a 4 for biographical drama.
You don't have to be British to love The Queen.
