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The Queen
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Starring: Helen Mirren
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 97 min.
Release Date:
October 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Sometimes it's a hit or
miss with directors, and with Stephen Frears at the helm the odds of a
film being a success versus failure are about fifty/fifty. He has given
us some excellent cinema such as High Fidelity, Dangerous Liaisons, and
The Grifters. But sometimes his movie eye misses the mark or lacks an
intriguing or well-rounded story. Mrs. Henderson Presents, Mary Reilly,
and Hero are just a sprinkling of Frear films that had a good shot at
being great, but ultimately failed in coherency, pacing, or some other
aspect.
THE QUEEN is certainly a film with some great acting. Helen Mirren is
spot-on as Queen Elizabeth II, as was Michael Sheen in his portrayal of
Tony Blair. But from here the cast sags quite a bit. James Cromwell
picked up the part of Prince Philip, but seemed very out of place since
he has been typecast in such things as The West Wing TV series and
The
Sum of All Fears flick. And Sylvia Syms (as The Queen Mother) and Alex
Jennings (as Prince Charles) were difficult to see in their respective
roles since they are still in the public eye. Although Queen Elizabeth
is still in the spotlight, Helen Mirren's strong portrayal made that
role much easier to swallow.
Fresh subjects are tough to hit upon anyway, and you have to give credit
where it is due; Stephen Frears certainly deserves some acclaim for
simply attempting to make a film about the Royal Family and their
reaction (or non-reaction) to Princess Diana's accidental death. But
herein lies another problem: plot. There isn't one. The Queen is a
reactionary tale, focusing mainly on Queen Elizabeth and the newly
installed Prime Minister Tony Blair, and how each of them views the
country's response to Di's death. Of course, the Queen deals with it by
not dealing with it. While Mr. Blair continually tries to save the
monarchy from self-destructing due to their own ignorance of the
peoples' grief. But there isn't a definitive beginning, middle and
ending to the story. It's character study of the monarchy will probably
be boring to many, especially in the beginning. Most viewers may feel
like dozing off after the first twenty minutes of disinteresting royal
uppityness.
Although the beginning and middle of the film lag, the ending picks up
just enough to make it watchable. The excellent shots of Balmoral Castle
and its Scottish surroundings were fairly awesome, as were some
analogies regarding the royal deer that roam the outback wildlands.
If you enjoy a good modern day character study, and are interested in
the current monarchy, you'll probably eat this film up. But if you're
eager for something plot-driven and deeply intriguing, you best look
elsewhere.
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Image from The Queen
DVD cost: $20.99
Purchase:
Barnes and Noble
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
When Blair is in his study
surrounded by books using a telephone, a copy of "Carter Beats the
Devil" is visible which wasn't first published in Britain until 2001.
The film is set in 1997.
Movie Quote: "Well
you are my tenth prime minister, Mr. Blair."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Queen
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