Review: The Queen


Duh…It’s about Queen Elizabeth II (an Oscar-winning turn by Dame Helen Mirren), the recent death of Princess Diana, the public’s disbelief at the Royals’ lack of public acknowledgment of the tragic event and overall rigidity, and how recently elected PM Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) would work to bridge the gap between the seemingly out-of-touch Monarchy and the sentimental public, who adored Diana (perhaps in some ways, doing much to prop himself up a bit, too).


I’ve got to disagree with many (mostly American) people who suggest this solid, if mostly unsurprising 2006 Stephen Frears (“The Grifters”, “Prick Up Your Ears”) film would work better for Brits than anyone else. As an Australian, I’m more aware of the monarchy than say the Americans, and I think that made this sometimes intentionally comical film a bit hard to take. The Queen and her family are seen to do and say things that whilst quite possible (I’m reliably informed that she did indeed drive her own car at least at some point) looked a little silly and unbelievable to me. Americans might swallow this sort of thing easier, being far away from it all. Furthermore, the characters of Charles (Alex Jennings doesn’t even come close to looking or sounding like him), Prince Phillip (James Cromwell looks convincing enough, even if his accent comes and goes a bit), and to a lesser degree The Queen Mother (amusingly played by dotty old Sylvia Sims) are caricatures, and in the case of Charles, confusingly drawn.


That said, there is still much to admire in this interesting, if overrated film, notably the fascinatingly strange (and strained) relationship between Liz and Tony. Mirren doesn’t give the greatest acting performance of all-time, but you do eventually accept her in the role so much so that you forget about Helen altogether and just watch the damn film. Nothing to sneeze at to be sure, but rock-solid. Arguably even more impressive is the dead-on performance by Sheen as the admittedly favourably portrayed PM Tony Blair (Helen McCrory is hilarious as his wife Cherie, playing her as the snarky anti-Monarchist we’ve all read about).
Scripted by Peter Morgan (“Hereafter”, “The Last King of Scotland”, “Frost/Nixon”), it manages to be reasonably tasteful in regards to the whole Diana affair, whilst still representing both sides of the issue (Liz and her brood had a very different view of Diana at the time of her death, due to her being no longer a Royal, but the public adored her- and still do).
Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit too s
Read more

Review: Eugenie de Sade

Eugenie (Soledad Miranda) makes a deathbed confession to author/biographer (Jesus ‘Jess’ Franco himself), recounting the tale of how her depraved stepfather (Paul Muller) groomed her into a life of depravity, debauchery, and murder.   Not to be confused with the similarly titled “Eugenie…The Story of Her Journey into Perversion” (by the same director) or “Justine de Sade” (which is not to be confused with Franco’s own “Justine” for that matter), this 1973 Marquis de Sade adaptation from writer-director Jesus Franco ( “99 Women” , “A Virgin Among the Living Dead” ) is perhaps the perfect marriage of Franco, sleazy material, and actors. Basically this is what Franco’s “She Killed in Ecstasy” might’ve been like if it were based on a Marquis de Sade work. There’s a few slow spots here and there, but overall I actually think this is Franco’s best film. Yes, even better than my previous choice “Vampyros Lesbos” , and better than his more ‘respectable’ films like “Count Dracula” (a
Read more