An intimate portrayal of the British Royal Family
 Jul 28th, 2007
Advantages:
Good view, excellent acting
Disadvantages:
Difficult to know how true to fact it is in places
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to similar films?
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  micksheff
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Member since:18.07.2003
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Review rated by 56 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
The Queen released in 2006 tells the story of the events surrounding the death of Diana, the Princes of Wales on the 31st August 1997. It is rare insight into the World of the British Royal Family at a time which saw them plunged to their lowest ever popularity. The death of Diana, saw a public reaction of grief that was unprecedented and it was therefore wise that writer Stephen Frears and the director of this film, Peter Morgan waited almost 10 years after the event before unleashing this film.
Helen Mirren plays the Queen, in a role that won her an Oscar for the best leading Actress in a film. The other prominent members of the cast include James Cromwell (HRH Prince Philip), Alex Jennings (HRH Prince Charles), Sylvia Syms (the Queen Mother), Michael Sheen (Tony Blair) and Helen McRory (Cherie Blair). The story begins with Tony Blair's landslide general election victory of May 1st 1997. There is an early humorous moment here when Mr Blair goes to Buckingham Palace the following morning, with his wife, to be formally asked by the Queen to be her next Prime Minister. As he kneels down in front of Her he starts to repeat the words that the Queen should be saying. The expressions on Helen Mirren's face tell us that her portrayal of the Queen is going to be impeccable. The private smirk telling the viewer that despite her welcoming meeting with the new Prime Minister and her dignified manner, that maybe, she is not altogether impressed with this man.
It is not long before the Royal Family is rocked by the news that Diana, has been seriously injured in
a car crash in Paris, and that her companion, Dodi Fayed is dead. As the news breaks to the World in the early hours of the Sunday morning the principal members of the Royal Family are at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral. The Queen is woken in the night to be told of the news and they gather around the television to watch the news as it unfolds. This a strange, almost surreal part of the film as you witness the reaction of the Queen to the news that Diana has died at the hospital. It has been said at this point that I am not a Royalist, nor am I anti-Royal for that matter, but much as I admired Diana for some of her achievements and her charisma I was not gripped by the same hysterical grief that so many others were when I learned of her death. Of course, I was shocked, yes I was saddened and I recognised the tragic loss of a glamorous woman so young to be a major event. The reaction to the this tragedy as portrayed by the Queen, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother was therefore to me as I could have imagined it to be.
The Royal Family, and in particular, the Queen were heavily criticised for the way that they reacted to this event. As I watched this film with interest I could see that this reaction on the part of Queen was a logical one, although it will never be known exactly how close to the truth it was. The immediate reaction to the news from the Queen was to break the news to the Princes but then to make sure that "the Boys" (Prince William and Harry) were shielded from the public and the media, instructing that the TV's and Radios be removed from their rooms.
Prince Charles is shown as the only member of the immediate Royalty to express his grief outwardly. Again, as the member who knew Diana the most intimately this was to be expected. To the Queen, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother, Diana was a woman that had lived her life in the public eye, using the media for self publicity in a way that was shameful to them as it broke Royal protocol and made a mockery of over a thousand years of tradition. Royal divorces were still something that were considered to be taboo in the eyes the Royalty and as the Queen pointed out "Diana, was no longer a member of her Family". The reaction from the World to the death of Diana saw millions of people flocking to London to lay flowers outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, whilst the Queen and her family remained isolated at Balmoral, protecting "the boys" and largely unaware of the public hysteria.
The Queen is shown as carrying on with her daily life, largely untouched by the things that are happening around her. Whilst Tony Blair, addresses the nation and seizes on the event to boost his popularity, coining the phrase "the People's Princes" in his speeches about Diana. As Diana's death boosts the public's opinion of the new Prime Minster it isolates the Queen further. Each of the characters that feature in this story bear an uncanny likeness to the real thing. Michael Sheen's Cheshire cat grin portrayal of Tony Blair is superb but there are moments when I did wonder perhaps if I was watching a party political broadcast from the Labour Party rather than a film. St Tony verses the cold, uncaring Queen…..
The Queen is portrayed in this film as a strong, traditional woman who has taken a vow to serve her people. When it suggested that Diana should have a State funeral she is perplexed, stating that "But Diana, was not a member of Royalty." Likewise public opinion cannot understand that there is no flag flying half mast at Buckingham Palace or why the Royals have not returned to London. To these comments the Queen says that "the flag at the Palace only flies at half mast for the death of the Monarch, as it did when her father died". As for returning to London, this is not even considered. As the days move on the Queen reads about her unpopularity in the press and begins to question her judgement. There are some wonderful moments that show the Queen on her Balmoral Estate behaving almost like a human, driving around on her own in a land rover wearing sunglasses and a headscarf. It is during one of these rare, private moments that we see the Queen staring into the moors, deep in though with tears in her eyes.
Eventually persuaded to return to London (by Tony Blair, if you believe the facts), the Queen somewhat reluctantly returns to London and addresses the nation on the eve of Diana's funeral. As this live broadcast seems the stem the hatred there is another wonderful scene where Tony Blair visit’s the Queen to thank her for addressing the nation. They take a walk with the dogs and the Queen turns to him and says "I cannot believe that I misjudged my people" explaining that She has not been told how to deal with such a thing and saying that She cannot believe that She "got things so wrong". Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The Queen is not an easy subject to make a film of over 90 minutes about. It is an even greater testament to the quality of this film to think that the period that this film spans only four months. The superb acting throughout and the story in general is one that kept me gripped throughout. Since it is a film that is based largely on known facts it is not a case of exactly wanting to know what happens next. It is much more about wanting to know how the Royal Family will react next.
I watched this film on DVD at someone else's house so I did not have the chance to check out any of the DVD features. This is therefore a film only review.
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![The Queen [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78135622.jpg)
by (7%):
by (2%):
27.09.2007 12:34
Very well written review - well done you. Full of information and most of your thoughts mirrored mine on this film.
25.08.2007 16:40
Exceptional from me, but don't think I'll watch it
23.08.2007 01:15
Fantastic review. Will come back with an E tomorrow.