The Queen (2 September 2006)
directed by Stephen Frears
starring Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam, Tim McMullan, Douglas Reith, Robin Soans, Jake Taylor Shantos, Dash Barber
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MPAA rating: Studio: Canal+, Granada Film Productions, Scott Rudin Productions Script: Peter Morgan Music: Alexandre Desplat Running time: 97 minutes Award: 2007 Golden Globe for Best Screenplay Tags: 1990s; Biography; Drama; England; hunting; London; monarchs Tactical strength: [9/10]
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for brief strong language
The Queen does something unusual -- it makes a fairly severe critique of monarchy in general while giving tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's years of service to her country. As a critique of monarchy, we see the royal family almost completely isolated from the people and the country that they represent. The family spends most of its time away from London on a huge estate in Scotland. The film focuses on the days following the death of Princess Diana in Paris and the first year in office for Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) as the new Prime Minister. Diana's death had a huge impact on the general population of Britain, but the Queen (Helen Mirren) feels that the burial should remain a private, family matter. The populace (and the popular press) cry for a public funeral.
At first the queen doesn't understand the public attention given to Diana's death and believes the furor will die down quickly. Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) tries to clarify things for his mother saying that the populace only saw the public Diana, "not the Diana that we knew." This observation points to the whole problem of the British monarchy. Without any real purpose in government, the members of the royal family have isolated themselves so completely that they have lost touch with the people they represent. Tony Blair starts out as a staunch representative of the new ways of thinking about government, but as he gets to know the Queen as a person and not just an icon, he comes to have some sympathy for her position. In the end, the Queen -- after receiving strict directions from Blair -- allows a public funeral for Diana. A person on the street would probably just say, "finally," but after watching the film you see the huge shift that had to take place in the Queen's mind to make that allowance.
You can only say one think about Helen Mirren's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth: amazing. When Tony Blair first meets the Queen as Prime Minister, a servant explains how he must behave when in "The Presence," and you totally believe in "The Presence" with Mirren on screen. Mirren manages to display a look of constant disdain one would expect from a monarch that has reigned for over fifty years, but she also conveys many subtle attributes that allow the audience to just get a peek at the woman behind the title. We see a woman who cares deeply for her grandchildren, loathes Diana Spencer, and gets confused when she misjudges how the public will react to Diana's death.
If we can judge future awards based on previous performances, I would expect Mirren to take Best Actress in both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards. Mirren's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II makes Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Truman Capote look like amateur acting, and I hope that her monumental performance gets just recognition.
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