1997 was not an easy year in British history. Britian ceded Hong Kong back to the Chinese, the IRA continued their attack on both the British Mainland and the Provinces, BA workers went on strike, the first Harry Potter book was published and bone-in cuts of beef were banned, oh yes, and there were the fairly minor stories involving Tony Blair sweeping to power to head a new Labour administration and the death of Princess Diana.
It's not often that we get a film that concentrates so closely on a snippet of time in history, let alone one which concentrates on a snippet of time less than 10 years in the past and one which involves the current reigning monarch. But this is exactly what "The Queen" does.
Director Stephen Frears picks up the action on the night of May 1 1997, the night on which a certain Mr Blair wooed the country with his promise of change and revolution. Whether truth or supposition we take a look at things from the Royal perspective and find a deeply cynical establishment, less than impressed by this young upstart. Even less of a hit is Mr Blair's baggage in the form of a wife, known to be anti-establishment and, even then, for a lawyer, rather confused about the constitution and concept of separation of the powers; something that was to remain the case for
the years that followed.
Wind on a couple of months and we have a sequence of events that can truly be described as ones which changed the shape of English history, starting with the death of Princess Diana. Protocol was turned on its head and we were witnesses to events that one would never imagine prior to that time and, even now, seem hard to comprehend.
The British monarchy is, for better or worse, a historic institution built upon an established relationship to the public of deference and remoteness. No one told the Monarch what to do (or at least no one expected the Establishment to listen) and no one questioned the ability of the Monarch to gauge the mood of the nation. The death of Diana, to be spun into the role of "the people's princess" changed all that. In "The Queen" we see a deeply troubled monarchy, split through loyalty, a sense of duty and a sense of tradition. We find them in circumstances that one would not wish on one's worst enemy, torn between family, a dislike of the deceased and yet a constitutional duty to do what is right. What follows makes for interesting viewing and, whether accurate or not, gives one a sense of involvement and much fodder for forming one's own conclusions as to whether the responses were correct and, to a degree, an insight into the immense puppeteering that goes on both in politics and Britain as represented by the Monarchy.
Helen Mirren's Oscar winning performance as The Queen is superb. She displays a whole gamut of emotions with ease and it was easy, after the first few minutes to forget the small differences in looks and take Mirren's performance out of the acting arena and into history. Michael Sheen, I think, was rather under-awarded for his performance as Tony Blair. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Blair as he was in 1997, Sheen perfected both his mannerisms and voice to deliver a captivating performance. Again, the writing helped show off both the vulnerability and strength of the new man in No. 10 and this is a credit to screenwriter Peter Morgan.
For me, the other actors came less close to their intended real-life characters. Whilst Alex Jennings (Prince Charles), Helen McCrory (Cherie Blair), James Cromwell (Prince Philip) and Sylvia Syms (The Queen Mother) played their roles with aplomb, each managing to capture the mannerisms of their real-life personas, the differences visually were, at times, hard to reconcile. Thankfully the screenwriting helped here (and this was even more the case with the more minor roles (Alastair Campbell for example) where names were dropped at helpful moments to keep you in the loop.
Director Frears did an excellent job weaving the story together with an excellent mix of acting interspersed with period footage. This interweaving of reality with supposition (for one cannot go so far as to say that it is fiction) worked to keep the film on track and there was surprisingly little jarring between the two formats.
At times during the film I wondered whether the film should not have been renamed "Tony Blair and The Queen" as much is made of Blair, thrown into a situation which, no matter how little sympathy one might have with the man, one would not envy. However Frears and Morgan work together to bring the film back round to the main subject such that one ends the film with what could perhaps be described as a deeper understanding of the Monarch or, if not that far, at least food for thought as to how her job as monarch and her human nature and sense of duty must oft collide. I feel that Morgan has managed to balance with skill the opposing sides of the story, leaving room for us, the viewer to draw our own conclusions. Cold, unfeeling scenes, are, to a degree, explained and softened but not in such a way that one is compelled to believe it as fact. Warmer scenes are shot in such a way that they display the vulnerability of the players but again, not in such a way that they should be treated as gospel. There is room for all views and Royalist or Republican, I think there is room for both enjoyment and education.
As a character study this film works, as a study of class this film works, as a statement of public thought and perception at the time this film works, I even think, if one looks hard enough, this film works as a piece of opinion, but far be it from me to assume that that was meant.
Recommended.
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Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Ian McShane, Dudley Sutton, Phyllis Logan, Chris Jury, Malcolm Tierney
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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Mar 10th, 2008
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