To continue our movie weekend, yesterday afternoon Marcia and I watched “The Queen”, starring Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen. (It amazing how much movie watching you can accomplish when your child is sick and always napping.)
For those of you that don’t know, this movie centers mostly on the week after Princess Diana’s death and what effects it had on the Royal Family, the relationship between the Queen and newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the relationships between them and the people and press of Great Britain.
Helen Mirren, as is probably known by most, won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for this performance. This is the THIRD British Queen she has portrayed. She was already very impressive as Queen Charlotte in “The Madness of King George” and the lead role in the “Elizabeth I” mini-series. I have pretty much enjoyed everything I have ever seen her in, including her role as Russian cosmonaut Captain Tanya Kirbuk in “2010″. (Of course there is one black eye, but that had much to do about the whole movie, meaning “The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover”.) I have not seen any of the other nominated roles, so I don’t have an opinion on whether the award was deserved. However, she is nothing short of a great actress and I am not surprised that she would eventually win for one performance or another, and this certainly was a great performance.
What made this movie so interesting was seeing how the Royal Family interacts with each other because of the tragedy, and the relationship between the Prime Minister and the Queen. It would be interesting to know just how true these events and conversations are. Her conversations at times with Tony Blair were rather delicate, which I am sure they always are, but given the subject matter it was intensified. And there is one moment where Blair really stands up for the Queen in front of his assistants and speechwriters. Did these actually happen?
I would also be interested to know how much truth was in the “behind the scenes” feel of the Royals everyday life. While in Scotland after Diana’s death, there are a few times when the Queen is driving herself (a Range Rover, off-road nonetheless), or walking into a room to ask the whereabouts of her husband and the princes dressed like a typical grandmother on an outdoor excursion. All of this, even if stretched, gives the Queen and her family more life then I am used to seeing. Their lives are full of endless formal affairs.
A couple of notes on the other actors. I was impressed with James Cromwell playing Prince Phillip. Of course that leads to more wonder of just how true these conversations are. He seemed rather cold and obviously not a fan of Diana’s. Also, Michael Sheen did a very good job with Tony Blair, and I never realize just how much the two look alike. He was a very good choice. Then there is Alex Jennings who played Prince Charles. Just my opinion, but I think he was not a good choice. He didn’t look like the Prince, especially his nose. Also, he came across as quite a wimp with a whiny voice. Even when he was being assertive, it lacked the necessary vigor. As much as I can see Prince Charles bowing to his mother’s choices, I never thought of him as such a “whiny-momma’s-boy” as the movie seemed to make him out to be in my eyes.
Given the nature of Princess Diana’s popularity, and the reasons that she was no longer considered part of the family, I am sure it was a tough time for the Royals, and that the inner workings we see in the movie were awful close to how it really was. It made for a very interesting and entertaining movie.
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