The movie depicts the seven days after the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. After Diana meets with an accident in Paris, the Queen(Helen Mirren) is woken up from her sleep and is immediately glued in front of the TV along with her husband, Prince Philip(James Cromwell) and mother, Queen Mother(Sylvia Syms). Very soon, Diana breathes her last. Since Diana is divorced from Prince Charles(Alex Jennings) and is no longer a HRH, the Queen does not want the funeral to be treated as a royal affair. Prince Charles persuades his mother to reconsider as Diana is the mother of the future king of England.
In the meantime, Tony Blair(Michael Sheen) realizes the importance of the death to the nation and prepares to address the people with the help of his Director of Communications, Alastair Campbell(Mark Bazeley). Disappointed at the monarchy’s lack of response to Diana’s death, Tony Blair addresses the nation and the world. He terms Diana as “People’s Princess”.
In the next few days, people react negatively towards the monarchy. The Queen do not want to change 400 years of tradition while Tony Blair tries to reason with the Queen. The Queen realizes antipathy towards her.
Stephen Frears directs this movie. He has concentrated on the performances to tell the story. He inserts the real news clipping from that era in between the scenes to heighten the drama and also to transport us to that era.
Helen Mirren is excellent as the Queen who is rigid in tradition and is surprised to find the nation and the world hating her for it. Michael Sheen plays Tony Blair and also the audience very well, mouthing and expressing our thoughts as the event unfolds.
Although the movie is about dealing with a tragedy, the movie has the English sense of humor and the wit in the proceedings. So, don’t be surprised to find yourself smiling at many occasions.
Watch this Queen.
Genre: Drama
Rating:****
Picture Courtesy: Yahoo! Movies
Tags: Movies,The Queen,Helen Mirren,James Cromwell,Sylvia Syms,Michael Sheen,Mark Bazeley,Alex Jennings,Stephen Frears,Drama
Wasn't Helen Mirren excellent? She looked like Queen Elizabeth. It was amazing.
ReplyDeleteWould like to watch this one. seems like an interesting watch from your review
ReplyDelete@Aparna-
ReplyDeleteHelen Mirren was excellent. I loved the scene when she goes and asks the kid with the flowers. "Is it for her?". Then the kid replies, "No, it is for you!". And her face suddenly shows various emotions.
@Sujata-
It is a very nice movie. It is a drama and hence relies on conversation. So please sure there are no distractions.
Very nice post. Though I have not seen the movie but I feel that I should see it. Keep writing.
ReplyDelete@Babli-
ReplyDeleteThanks. Watch this one.