A compelling, low-key film for adults.

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2007)

Diana, Princess of Wales' life and death were both fodder for sensationalist tabloids and newspapers, as well as a rather unique event in the 1990s; a singular outpouring of national, even global, grief for an 'ex-HRH' who became a media princess. This film, made by the reliable director Stephen Frears, follows the British Royal family in the week between Diana's death and her funeral. Helen Mirren, essaying her third British Queen (well, two Queens and a Queen-consort), plays Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a score or so other nations for over fifty years.
I have always been an advocate for the Canadian Monarchy (a thousand dead Irish-Catholic relatives scattered along the Boyne roll over in their graves), in support of a traditional establishment that has served our country well over the years; I've always greatly admired the Queen's dedication to duty and dignified execution of her office. Mirren portrays her as a concerned, professional woman who finds that the England of her father, George VI, has changed under her feet, and she may not be able to judge the mood anymore. Tony Blair, played by Michael Sheen, attempts to transition the Crown to a more modern role, while fending off barbs from his disrespectful subordinates.
There isn't a whole lot of plot here, but it is a terrific character study of the Queen and the Prime Minister. Mirren and Sheen are excellent, and each is physically a dead-ringer for their subject. Other actors, such as Sylvia Syms (the Queen Mum), James Cromwell (Prince Phillip), and Alex Jennings (Prince Charles) are not as physically similar, but are also strong in their parts; Syms is a delightful comic, and she and Cromwell get most of the best lines (there's a good deal of humour, the dry and educated variety, to be found here). Mirren's performance has been deservedly praised, but it is a shame that Sheen's work has fallen by the wayside; he deserved a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
A decades after Diana's death, the fears for the future of the monarchy have not come to pass; Elizabeth II is still widely admired, and more popular than ever, and she can hopefully surpass Queen Victoria as England's longest-serving monarch. God save the Queen.