The Queen

RATED: PG-13 for brief strong language
RUNNING TIME: 103 MINUTES
PLOT: This movie is a revealing, witty portrait of the British royal family in crisis immediately following the death of Princess Diana. The setting for this fictional account of real events is no less than the private chambers of the Royal Family and the British government in the wake of the sudden death of Princess Diana in August of 1997.

STARS: Helen Mirren (Queen Elizabeth II), James Cromwell (Prince Philip), Alex Jennings (Prince Charles), Sylvia Syms (Queen Mother), Michael Sheen (Tony Blair).

Gord Burt 4.5 Stars

Everyone who was alive at the time remembers where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. For this generation, that frozen moment belongs to Princess Diana, a woman taken far too early who did immeasurable good and suffered greatly.

The Queen slips audaciously behind the famous walls of Buckingham Palace, Downing St. and Balmoral Castle to catch Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Tony Blair in action. Both these personages, of course, still occupy those positions. This docudrama chronicles the Queen’s 45th year in power and Blair’s first.

The Queen zeroes in on the traumatic week in August 1997 following Princess Diana’s death in a Paris car crash. Making us a fly on the wall of the planet’s most-watched household, and portraying them as fallible human beings, the movie delivers quite a kick. The film, a fascinating mix of gossip and historical perspective, examines the clash of values, rituals and traditions versus media savvy and political ambition, that leads to a crisis for the British monarchy.

Helen Mirren gives an Oscar worthy performance as Queen Elizabeth. She initially comes off as a relic of a bygone era with a direct link to Queen Victoria herself, but over the course of the week, she emerges as a queen with dignity and durability. She is a woman dedicated to doing her duty, but who needs to cope with a newly discovered shift in values. Mirren is superb in finding those telling moments where the royal mask drops to reveal the flesh-and-blood woman.

Diana’s death was to Tony Blair what 9/11 was to George Bush, an event that defined the style of his administration. Charles recognized that, what Diana knew - how to reach the common person, how to work the media - was also present in Blair. In one of the script’s several references to the present day, Queen Elizabeth tells Blair that “one day, quite suddenly and without warning, the same thing (public displeasure) will happen to you,” rendering the Prime Minister speechless.

We see Diana as the entire world saw her, through television and photographs. We also see how vast her exposure was and how obsessive the camera and numerous eyes were with her.

Erin Harde 4 Stars

It may be up for some Oscars, and feature a stunning performance by Helen Mirren, but when it comes down to it, The Queen tickles that same fancy that the tabloids do. It’s a glorious two hours of spying on the royal family behind the castle walls as they cope with the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death.

It’s a film to fan the voyeur fire, ironically the same one that killed Diana. Our only excuse is that it’s fiction pieced together by snippets of the truth. There is no real harm in us devouring every word and expression Elizabeth II utters, so we’re free to enjoy it.

The Queen recounts Britain’s fury with the royal reaction, or lack thereof. While newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair gained even more popularity in his public statements about the People’s Princess, the Queen faced the startling statistic that one in four Britons would abolish the monarchy in favour of a republic. And as that realization hits her, it becomes easier to sympathize with her and the decades of tradition that inform her every move.

Mirren has incredible presence as the Sovereign. She makes the queen’s power felt with just a few words or a gesture. Watching Blair nervously fumble through the protocol, and her scathing looks at his mistakes and his wife’s crooked curtsey is a laugh. But the lighter moments are rare. Mirren exercises her best acting in the scenes where there is no dialogue at all, and we’re forced to attempt reading the queen’s mind. There is a curious metaphor about a stag and the monarchy, but its meaning is up for interpretation. When she speaks, however, there is no questioning her intent, as Blair finds out repeatedly.

Charles turns out to be a surprising champion of communicating outright with the public, but he too becomes a eunuch in the presence of his mother. Special care is made to leave William and Harry in the background, and their faces are never once revealed. The Queen stays focused on its title character and her constant struggle to balance tradition and modernization. Tabloid stories conclude at the end of the page, but this film has no tidy ending, leaving us to ponder the direction of the monarchy.