Helen Mirren IS Queen Elizabeth!

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2007)

The Queen (2006) directed by Stephen Frears, demonstrates the great talent of Helen Mirren, who portrays Queen Elizabeth II. The film is a fictionalized account of the royal reaction to the death of Princess Diana. Mirren is astoundingly good in this role. As I watched the movie, I had to keep reminding myself that it was not, in fact, Queen Elizabeth II I was watching on the screen.
It's obviously impossible for any of us to know what was going on in the minds of the royal family right after Princess Diana died. This film puts forward the plausible explanation that Queen Elizabeth was just following proper and correct protocol as she understood it. Certainly, the Queen emerges as a sympathetic character--someone bound by tradition to do things (and not do things) in a way that might seem unnatural to the rest of us.
Helen Mirren carries this film. Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, James Cromwell as Prince Philip, Alex Jennings as Prince Charles, and Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother never convince us that they are anything other than actors portraying the royal family in a movie. They don't get inside their characters the way the Helen Mirren gets inside her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II.
Tony Blair's character never convinces. In particular, the opening scene--in which he meets the queen in his new role as prime minister--is awkwardly written and badly acted. It stretches belief to suggest that someone clever enough to become the prime minister of England would be so naive about the the proper protocol expected at this important and symbolic occasion.
Despite these weaknesses, I enjoyed the movie and would certainly recommend it to others. Helen Mirren unquestionably deserves an Oscar for her work in this film.