The Queen

The Queen, directed by Stephen Frears


The Queen was released in 2006 and I was not particularly interested in watching this movie, firstly I do not take an interest in Royal affairs and secondly I was adamant as to how the Queen would be represented. But as a favour to a friend I went to see it at the Commodore Cinema and as I sat down with a big box of popcorn to hopefully keep me awake, there was no other choice but to enter this world.

The film starts with a series of events within a montage to give a documenatry style realism, showing the fatal car crash of Princess Diana, her death and then the response of the nation who are in mourning whereby they lay flowers in commemoration. As the film progresses, we see The Queen's reaction to her death and how the nation is accusing her of having no heart whilst the papers are attacking her and claiming she has no remorse. So Helen Mirren's portrayal is of a woman fighting her own personal demons because it has been embedded within her to show no emotion due to it being frowned upon as a sign of weakness within the Royal Family. So sympathy for her was nearly achieved but the greater picture came back to me and the bottom line is that Diana is dead and she isn't, so her portrayal gives the impression that she is in fact a 'Drama Queen', and the hardships of actually saying to her people that it is a tragic loss makes her character seem cold and heartless.

Apart from the actual plot, the way it was directed was a good effort and the quality of the shots and editing carried this movie through along with the dependable and reliable Helen Mirren, who recently won an Academy Award at the 2007 oscars for her role. However, what made a deep and pitiful hole in my stomach was at the end of the movie when she is left talking to Tony Blair and gives a little chuckle. For me, this shows she had learnt nothing about her ordeal with the nation and her duty to be there for them, added to the lack of respect shown for Princess Diana. So for me her portrayal within this movie was negative which re-established my faith in not immersing myself in the life of royalty.