Weekly Review -- Cinematic royalty

The Queen (2006) -- We see them in the news, on magazine covers and in society sections of world newspapers. We hear news and gossip about them daily, but how much do we really know about the British royal family? More importantly, do we even come close to knowing anything about Queen Elizabeth II, one of the family's most enigmatic figures? This sharp, witty and at times downright poignant film manages at once to humanize the royal family, while also retaining its central character's mystique. The film follows the aftermath of Britain's two landmark events that occurred in the summer of 1997 -- Tony Blair's ascent to the Prime Minister position in May and Princess Diana's tragic death at the end of August. Blair's (Michael Sheen) attempts to modernize the monarchy and the Queen's (Helen Mirren) misgivings about the new and often hotheaded Prime Minister take a back seat after the Princess of Wales dies. While Blair and the entire country are stunned at the lack of grief displayed by the royal family, we are privy to what has been going on behind the scenes at the Buckingham Palace. Director Stephen Frears portrays the Queen as a deeply conflicted individual, torn between her ingrained sense of duty to tradition and a situation that directly affects not only her family, but also her country, family traditions and the only life she has ever known. There is no other way to describe Mirren's performance, other than saying that she becomes the Queen. Her voice and mannerisms are perfect and the performance, that could have come dangerously close to parody in lesser hands, is an expertly created depiction of a woman whose inner strength may even be unfamiliar to herself. Michael Sheen is very good as Blair; the character's quirks and witty confusion at the royal family's ways are a delight to watch. I also really liked Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair, who stands behind her husband and, like him, is very new to the political fame game. The screenplay is a rare combination of biting wit and serious contemplation. It incorporates a view of Great Britain's collective grief after Princess Diana's death into a look at this event's political effect, while always having the royal family's reactions at the forefront. The Queen is a classy film about the clash of tradition and modern politics, but also about an extraordinary family's attempts to deal with a personal tragedy, which just happened to be one of the milestone events of the nineties.

10/10