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A+ |
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A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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A+ |
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This Queen Rules With Conscience
by Eric (movies profile)
May 16, 2008
15
of
17 people found this review helpful
I was 16 when Princess Diana was killed in Paris. I remember how I felt that that the whole matter had been distorted, and that by doing so it had killed the real tragedy; that the underbelly of people's wanton curiosity had killed its own quarry. But I didn't know that the outcome of her death would ultimately show the changing face of a nation. Stephen Frears did when he made The Queen, one of the most superb films I've seen this year.
The film starts off with the election of Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen). On Election Day, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) doesn't seem too concerned about this new politician and his labor party. When they meet after his victory, she sizes him up by mentioning her first Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. These scenes are quietly funny as Blair feels unprepared to deal with royalty, which will ultimately one of his important tasks. The Queen believes that modernization is a fad that will quickly go away. Blair understands better that the world is now connected completely with universal telecommunication, including a never-ending news media that seems to never lose their taste for blood.
How interesting to see that only months after Blair takes office, these two opinions are put on trial in the court of public opinion when former Princess of Wales is killed. As Blair reads it, she's a symbol to the British people. But to the monarchy, she's the woman who divorced Charles and became a headache to them over the last few years. And on the news all over world, the grief of the people is shown as flowers are left in front of Buckingham Palace in ever-growing numbers. It becomes clear to all that Diana's life had meant more to people than could have been expected. And they wanted to hear from their queen about the tragedy.
As Elizabeth sees it, why should she? She's no longer royalty and it didn't help that the two of them weren't very friendly to each other. Blair does talk though, coining the phase "People's Princess", and making him an instant celebrity. But it's not him that the people want to hear. Blair tries to advise her of the grave mistake of not talking about it. This brings out the differences in these two forms of power; Blair is a politician who requires to read the will of the people to get elected to power. Elizabeth was born into her job and sees events in the long run. To her, the death of one woman, however famous, will eventually be yesterday's news. Her mistake isn't just in underestimating her subjects' grief but in also underestimating the new sensationalist media, now 24 hours and seen all over the world. The world is changing around her, something that has always been happening outside of her world. And for the first time, it is now coming in.
Since history already tells us what happens, the film finds it more important to understand the people involved. We see characters wrestle with decisions before our very eyes, especially the queen herself and Blair. A wonderful metaphor is used in a large 17-point Buck that becomes a kind of kindred spirit to Elizabeth. The metaphor suggests majestic pride in the face of terminal danger. What happens to the Buck eventually allows the queen to understand her decisions better. For Blair, his choices are much more strained. Elected on the platform to reign in entitlements to the upper-classes and surrounded by people who would love nothing more than to abolish the monarchy (including his wife), he finds himself trying to advise her away from her stubborn refusal to address the matter. This matter actually brings full circle their relationship as both begin to understand and eventually respect the other. Near the end she warns Blair about the fickle love/hate relationship they have with the people and how it can turn on a dime, which in fact does happen to him six years later.
One thing about the film that amazes me is how even-handed it is to everybody involved. It never says that one person is right and one person is wrong. In fact, you can understand where everybody comes from. I agree that the queen shouldn't need to address her people when every celebrity dies, especially one that has done everything she could to punish her husband's family. But then they did treat her very badly while she was there, something that the film doesn't shy away from. The film tastefully puts her two boys in the background and doesn't allow their grief to be exploited. And then there's Blair. What I also love about this film is how it doesn't really answer our questions, just allowing us enough to understand what's going on.
The film's central strength comes from its incredible cast. Even its smallest players perform with sharp clarity. One of the best performances I've seen all year comes from Helen Mirren. Throughout the film, I didn't see Helen Mirren, I saw The Queen. Her performance is introverted, involved more in what she doesn't show than what she does. It takes skill to show us what's going on in your mind, but it takes pure talent to NOT show us and still let us see. But my favorite performance this year is Michael Sheen's Tony Blair. He doesn't exactly underplay his part, but dulls the constant agitation that comes with his position on the tip of a knife's edge. I love how he can appear boyish and silly at times and world-weary at others.
For director Stephen Frears, The Queen is a perfect match for his taste in films. He loves to allow characters to act out and allow the scenes to feel alive. This is difficult in a drama based on recent events, but with this film, I don't feel I'm watching a reenactment, but that these decisions are being made in the moment. This is trademark of Frears, whose other films include High Fidelity (which I love) and The Grifters (which I didn't love).
All in all, this is a high drama with powerful performances and central questions that will leave you talking about it. Something of a curiosity about the film is the title, The Queen. It really represents probably the most important aspect of the film, the delicate balance of the job it describes and the woman who claims the title. All I know is who I'm going to be kneeling for on Oscar Night. |
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