I have wanted to see the film The Queen since it came out at the cinema. When Dame Helen Mirren won the Oscar for her performance as HRH, it piqued my interest further. So when hubby and the kids asked what I would like for Mothers' Day, after realising that Happy Feet and Flushed Away weren't out yet, I chose to have the DVD of The Queen.
So, last night, I finally had the chance to watch the film. It was well worth the wait!
As most people will probably know, The Queen tells the story of the time from Tony Blair winning the general election to the crisis facing the royal family after the death of Princess Diana. This is a period that we will remember ourselves, so the film has a disadvantage to begin with - we know what happens. We're not waiting for a plot twist or to find out the ending. The main reason we watch is to discover how the characters are portrayed.
Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen are outstanding as the Queen and Tony Blair. Their portrayals are much more than impressions. They seem to find the essence of the character, so you forget they are actors and believe in their performances.
The Queen is played as a strong, independent and stubborn woman, but also sympathetic. Her softer side is displayed, though only when she's alone. This felt very realistic and displays a striking contrast between her public and private faces. Helen Mirren shows this perfectly in her portrayal of the role, visibly switching 'on' into the public mode, only letting her genuine emotions come to the surface when she is alone in her bedroom.
Michael Sheen was so convincing as Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa!, but is equally impressive as Tony Blair. He has the smile down perfectly and balances comfortably on that line between smug and confident. He is shown to have faults, to make faux-pas, but to grow into his role as Prime Minister to become a worthy leader of the country. Sheen also shows the private face well, particularly in his interaction with Cherie.
The rest of the cast are very good too, especially Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair and Alex Jennings as Prince Charles. Cherie comes across
as cynical, grounded and very likeable. Prince Charles is the most human and sympathetic of the royals and the one I liked most in the film (as I do in real life).
The only character I didn't feel rang true was that of the Queen Mother played by Sylvia Syms. I felt she played it almost like a Spitting Image caricature, which seemed out of line with the rest of the cast.
The focus of the film is often centred on the relationships between the characters, mainly that between the Queen and Tony Blair, but also between the Blairs as a family, the Blairs and their staff, the Queen and her staff, and the royals as a family. There is a well-written and well-acted moment where Prince Charles defends Diana to the Queen, saying what a good mother she was to William and Harry. At the same time, you can see the difference between the Queen as a mother to Charles, where they seem quite formal and distant with each other.
The film shows a fascinating insight into the world of the royal family. It feels genuine and realistic and it is never sensationalized, the tone is a very respectful one. For instance, Princess Diana's car crash is not shown and the Queen's tears are filmed from behind. Similarly, when Charles visits Diana's body in Paris, it is silent and shot through a window, which puts distance between us and his private grief. Princes William and Harry are rarely seen, never heard and are usually shot from behind. I found this very respectful of their privacy.
The character of the Queen's Private Secretary, Robin Janvrin (played by Roger Allam) is an interesting one too. I realised what a difficult - and diplomatic - job someone like him has, as he needs to push HRH into doing certain things, but has to do so in such a way as to remain inferior to her. They deserve every penny they earn!
The Blair household contrasts with the pomp and circumstance of the royal family. They come across as a more normal family, in a more relaxed atmosphere. The working life of the Blairs is also quite different to that of the Queen's household. Blair and his staff are more modern, younger and more informal. Alistair Campbell is featured here and comes across as ambitious, cynical and calculating.
There is a recurring theme of traditional versus modern throughout the film. The Queen represents tradition - formality, doing things the same way they have been done for centuries and resistant to change. Meanwhile, the Blair government (and indeed Prince Charles) is modern. They understand the current climate and realise things can change - indeed, that they must do so.
The film is interspersed with genuine news footage from the time - TV reports and newspaper coverage. This effectively puts the events into context. I felt it reminded me of my feelings at the time it all happened, which added to the air of authenticity about the film.
There are plenty of beautiful locations to admire in the film with lavish stately homes and beautiful Scottish countryside. It is a very pretty film visually. The costumes are well done too and the Queen's clothes are very recognizable as being the right style that she wears.
It is a warm and engaging film, full of gentle humour. One laugh-out-loud moment came when Tony Blair is seen wearing a Newcastle FC T-shirt with 'Blair 10' on the back. There are moving moments too, such as Earl Spencer's eulogy in the church and the incredible public reaction outside. Another poignant moment I enjoyed was the little girl giving the Queen flowers. The symbolism of the stag was beautifully filmed too.
Overall, my husband and I both loved it. Hubby is a staunch monarchist and has researched the history of the royal family extensively, but he also felt the film was accurate. I think most people would enjoy watching The Queen, except maybe teenagers who would probably find it boring and young kids. If any youngsters do watch it, there is one swear word said by Cherie quite near the start.
My dogs weren't very keen on the film though. There are a few scenes with dogs in and some barking, which upset my two, who thought our garden had been invaded by Corgis!
The extras on the disc include - Production Photography Gallery Cast & Crew Biographies Theatrical Trailer
My two favourite extras are the commentary and the Featurette, so I will review these in detail, if anyone is interested in knowing more about them.
Commentary
The commentary is done by Peter Morgan (the writer) and Stephen Frears (the director). I usually prefer actors doing the commentaries, but this one is interesting. Both are strong men with strong views about what is right and how things should be filmed. They seem very honest and there is a discernible slight friction between them, which adds an interesting edge to the commentary.
They explain which locations were used and why. Interestingly, they comment that the scenes were never shot in the right place! For instance, The Ritz in Paris was really a nearby hotel in the city and some of the interiors of Buckingham Palace were filmed in Lord Brocket's home.
It was fascinating hearing why things were done a certain way. Usually, it was for reasons of budget, but it was also interesting to hear why lines were cut or scenes were filmed using a particular method.
For example, the Queen's scenes were often shot on 35mm film, while the Blair's household was on 16mm. This gives the effect of the Queen being more 'filmic' while the Blairs seemed as if they were on TV, rather than shown on a cinema screen. This helped to give the impression of Tony Blair as a 'commoner', contrasting with the opulence of the royal household.
While watching the film, I was interested to know how much was true and how much was poetic license. This is addressed in the commentary, where they explain that they had quite a few inside sources who were prepared to give them information, but some things are never documented, so they had to choose what they felt was authentic.
Apparently the Queen and Prince Philip sometimes share a bed, so they were shown both sharing and going off to separate rooms. Other things are publicly documented, such as Charles being paranoid about being shot and the Queen being a "devoted diarist".
I'm sure you're wondering about Blair's T-shirt too, as I was. Well, yes, he does really have a Newcastle FC shirt with his name on, as it was given to him by Kevin Keegan. Frears and Morgan debate whether putting Blair in the shirt was the correct decision or not, debating if it was "good art or bad art" which is fascinating in itself.
Overall, the documentary is definitely worth listening to. I felt it answered the questions I had and provided a fascinating insight into the making of the film.
Making Of Featurette
The Featurette is also worth watching, although not as detailed as the commentary. It features interviews with several of the cast and crew, including Stephen Frears, Helen Mirren, Peter Morgan, Michael Sheen, Andy Harries, James Cromwell, Alex Jennings and Sylvia Syms.
They discuss their aims, how to get into the skins of the characters and how the actors use their voices and mannerisms to convince the audience. Helen Mirren explains it beautifully as "trying to extricate their humanity from their situation" - to show the human face of a very public institution.
There are also sections on the costumes, locations used and the World of the Blairs versus World of the Royals. The most interesting section for me was where some of the cast and crew discuss their own memories of Princess Diana's death and the week that followed it. There is general agreement that this part is central to the whole film and had to be handled correctly.
Information
The film was made in 2006, with the DVD release being earlier this year. It was bought for me for £12.99 from Play.com but is also available from usual retail outlets. It is rated a 12 and is 98 minutes long.
I would definitely recommend this DVD. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, found the extras fascinating and would be happy to watch The Queen again.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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![The Queen [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78135622.jpg "The Queen [DVD] [2006]")
Mar 19th, 2007
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