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Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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2006 – PG-13 – 101 min.
Director: Stephen Frears
Primary Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, Sylvia Syms, Mark Bazeley
Stars ****(of 5)
Popcorn *** 1/2 (of 5)
Film Type(s): Drama, Royalty, Public Perception, Politics
Synopsis: This film follows Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren) and Tony Blair (Sheen) in the week following the death of Princess Di, where they find they are at odds. The Queen struggles with the proper protocols with which she has been brought up when they come into conflict with how the British people see Princess Di’s death. Still adjusting to his new office of Prime Minister, meanwhile, is Tony Blair and, while seen as in touch with the public and is loyal to the monarchy, we see him struggle to get the Queen to help in the public mourning process without making much progress. Can Blair help the Queen avert damaging the Royal Family’s reputation and England’s position with the world at large?
Review: Opening with the quotation, “Heavy lies the head that wears the crown.” From Henry IV Part II, this film follows Queen Elizabeth II (Mirren) and her actions in the week following Princess Di’s death in 1997. In particular, we see the counter-point of her actions through the eyes of then newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Sheen). We see the Queen surrounded by traditions and protocols, shown in classic décor, and seen on camera in cold and neutral color tones, all of which is counter acted when we see Blair awkward adjustments to his Office, living among regular people, and in warm tones. To further the blunt Point-Counterpoint, throughout the film we are constantly made aware of the public’s perception of both characters via real news footage from the time, with the Queen becoming increasingly unpopular with the people for not acknowledging Di’s death publicly and Blair is seen as a ‘reformer’ ‘in touch with the people’; much to the bewilderment of both. Overall, the film is very well presented and structured so that, early on, we are led to thing that the Queen and Blair are one-sided opposing forces, when in fact they know the other’s position all to well and their positions seem to be increasingly forced by the circumstances and the people they are surrounded by. All of the acting in this film is excellent, constantly engaging us into the debate. Mirren’s performance is first rate, never ringing false in the quiet dignity of the Queen. One wonderful scene has an alone Queen having a quiet breakdown when she sees the buck that Prince Phillip’s hunting party had been after and, while the scene is very artsy, it illustrates the point brought on by the Henry IV quotation at the beginning, that Queen Elizabeth is (in this film) seen as a tragic heroine. A coy performance by Sheen as Tony Blair also allows the film to transform from an ‘Out with the Old, In with the New’ film into a generational story, with Blair and the Queen becoming almost like an estranged mother and son that have reconciled. To aid in framing this film, footage from Di’s life is intercut throughout the film to illustrate how the public perceived her as the “People’s Princess”, that Blair did a lot of Micro-managing of the Royalty, and that the Queen, in spite of infighting over Di’s status due to her divorce, was trying to be a grandmother to her grieving grandchildren and keep the funeral a private affair. The Direction and Cinematography of this film is crisp and it has a very good classic score by Alexandre Desplat with blends of harp, piano, oboe, and harpsichord that evoke John Addison’s work on 1972’s Sleuth. Sheen also played Blair in the TV Movie The Deal and this film comes less than a year after Mirren played the lead in Queen Elizabeth I.
Awards Likely: To date, it has already received Golden Globe nominations for Best Drama, Actress, Director, and Screenplay. It is likely to repeat those categories at the Oscars and sneak in nominations for Score, Cinematography, Editing, and (ironically) Best Supporting Actor for Sheen as Blair.
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