The Queen
Posted by Gary Sundt on March 28, 2008
As Printed in The Lumberjack on January 25, 2007
The best part about December is the fact that all those movies looking for Oscar contention will be brought out . However, it takes a while for some movies to get to the local movie theater. Regardless, The Queen is finally gracing us with her presence.
The Queen is the spell-binding story of the Monarch’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana, one of the most beloved figures of the 20th century. The film shows the week-long wait for Queen Elizabeth II’s response to the tragic death of the beloved “people’s princess,” as the British people eagerly wait in frustration and sadness for some kind of message from their leader.
The queen and Diana did not get along, and the movie does not try to hide that. Queen Elizabeth II, played by Helen Mirren (Academy Award nominee for Gosford Park), carries the role with the dignity and grace that the queen is so famous for. Her personal disdain for Diana, much like her emotions throughout the entire film, is never admitted in her words, but is spoken through the words of the people around her, both in personal circles and those world-wide.
The Queen is beautiful, using real news coverage throughout to bring the audience back to that devastating week. We see actual footage of the people standing outside Buckingham Palace, waiting for their queen to make a statement or to at least make an appearance. But the footage can’t do it all, which is why Tony Blair (Michael Sheen, Blood Diamond) the then newly elected British prime minister, helps to represent the people’s wishes.
While the personal moments with Elizabeth are few and far between, they are easily the most powerful. The greatest of them all is actually one you wouldn’t suspect: Her Majesty sees a dead deer. The deer was wounded before it died, and she has a quiet moment. We watch as the great queen wonders if Diana was not the same way: wounded and carrying herself as long as she could before the rest of the world would kill her.
The Queen is a powerhouse of a film, and Mirren and Sheen are outstanding in their respective roles. The movie has already garnered Golden Globes for Mirren and the screenplay, and will no doubt be up for the several Academy Awards. And Her Majesty deserves it. The Queen is the best English-language film of 2006, and Mirren is the queen of her role (pun intended).
