The Queen (2006)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Crappy film

A Major Disappointment

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The QueenThe conversations are bang on accurate and so are the behaviour and the environment offered to the set which is rich and clean visually (for obvious reasons) that endorses its stunning production, costume and make-up design. The writing is witty as the stakes projected are bigger and not bigger at the same time, finding the perfect balance of necessity and priority where the makers doesn't spend their time on creating something colossal and instead goes deep and detailed within the boundaries allotted. Peter Morgan has done a terrific work on writing this justifying script that is supported decently by Stephen Frears whose brilliant execution skills helps it sail off easily along with the perfect editing. The feature scores majestically on performance where Helen Mirren is doing some of the best work of her career and is supported well by Michael Sheen. Having said that, the writing is a bit overcooked and unfortunately isn't as convoluted as the makers think. The feature has gripping screenplay, stellar performance and excellent execution on its side but lacks the connection with the audience somehow. The Queen reigns bold and uneasy if not almighty, and the primary reason would be the well thought-out structure of it that is unique and unfamiliar to the audience.

Can you remember the weeks after the death of Princess Diana? For those who don't remember or were not there at the time, the Princess of Wales Diana Spencer died on 31st of August 1997 and the whole world went into morning. The British people in particular were very upset with her death with seemingly millions joining together in their grief, an unprecedented move that was never before seen or since. This is the backdrop for The Queen.The Queen begins with Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) being elected Prime Minster and goes through the next few weeks until the public funeral on September the 5th. The main focus is on the royal family trying to comprehend the death and struggling to understand the reaction that occurred. The film does itself a favour by focusing on the Royal family and inability to understand the change of behavior on the British people. I like fact the movie does not vilify or deify the family, it treats them like humans. Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth 2nd is so very believable as the queen, you do not even see her as Helen Mirren, for all intents and purposes is the Queen. She is a woman who does not understand what to do asides from what is to be expected of her and the film does not judge her on it, if anything it sympathies with her. Michael Sheen is uncanny as Tony Blair, his smile, his accent it is all so believable. Same goes with James Cromwell as Prince Philip I can't see anyone else portraying Prince Philip or anyone else doing it as well as James Cromwell. The film is flawless on a technical standpoint; I cannot see any flaws in terms of filmmaking. Overall a very well made movie. I think one of the best moments of editing in the moving is how the movie inter cuts old recordings of Diana with the first person perspective of the driver and the occasionally cut to the reporters chasing the car.The film is mostly accurate to the historical events, with some minor chances to simplify the events for narrative purposes. It does paint the press in a somewhat negative light and does gloss over the entire backlash against the journalists that resulted in Diana's death. It just has a missed opportunity that could have been explored if it had a longer running time. But it does not really hurt the movie overall. The Queen is a pretty good movie all things considered. I really cannot find much to talk about. So yeah...

Cunningly put together: real footage spliced with suppositional fictional dialogue and events. Mirren and Cromwell are exceedingly well cast, and convincing, if slightly one-dimensional. It's the way the parts are conceived and written. But Charles, Blair, Cherie, Alistair and Queen Mum, unfortunately come across as little more than cartoon caricatures. This is the problem with the movie as a whole: it seems rather shallow and superficial, as if its subject were really Diana, and not the Queen.Stephen Frears is nevertheless a subtle, multi-layered director. His early production, "The Hit", is a masterful example. This film, like that one, is certainly memorable, and has a trick of making you reflect and think about the implications of the events taking place. There would appear to be a distinct advantage of having a hereditary figurehead, in effect a President, with no political power, who is brought up and trained to behave in a responsible, representative manner. This is not a position suitably occupied by a ditzy celebrity type of bimbo, going all out to court popular publicity. The alternative to the tradition evolved in the UK over the last thousand years is currently transpiring across the pond. An amusing and telling remark was made, to the effect that Blair's charisma might possibly also one day evaporate.

This movie gives us a look at what things might have been like at the time when Lady Di was killed in a car accident in Paris. Helen Mirren gives an excellent portrayal of Queen Elizabeth. She is so convincing as the queen that one soon is able to easily suspend any disbelief that she is NOT the queen. Helen Mirren--whom I have enjoyed since her Shakespeare work in the late 60s early 70s---won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for this role.Another 'dead on' performance is that of Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. The movie starts with the moment when Blair first had his first awkward audience with the queen. It then skips forward to the time when Diana was killed. As the royal family vacations in Scotland, Blair's problem is how to convince the queen that she must return to London to acknowledge the grief of the people and finally have a large public funeral rather than a small private one. This is a case of the royal family not knowing HOW to react under such unusual circumstances. Blair, plus public sentiment, helps her to realize what should be done.