Think You know the Royal family? Think again.

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2008)

Anybody who is old enough to remember when Princess Diana of Wales,along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed(spelling?) and one of their bodyguards were killed knows that,besides the world and popular outpouring of sympathy and grief over the tragedy out-poured in the days after,there was plenty of recrimination from the media as well as the public,and the massive majority of it went toward the House of Windsor.
This story,which covers exactly the seven days afterwords,mostly from the perspective of the Royal family and the Prime MInister--still newly elected Tony Blair(Michael Sheen,very well-cast)--and his office,spliced with coverage snippets from news reels and media footage,gives you a wide range of emotion and perspective. Credit the screenplay and writer Peter Morgan,as well as Stephen Frears' direction with turning this film into more than a mere walk-through of familiar events,replete with emotion and instead a thought-provoking and balanced look at the often-maligned monarchy,particularly through the eyes of the figurehead Queen Elizabeth II(Helen Mirren,EVERY bit the part). She may be a steely,tough and perceivably dour sovereign,but she is very much the product of both her upbringing AND history,and she is also not unaware of how her people see her,and this conflict is quietly raging as the preparations for Diana's funeral ensue.
Anchored by Mirren's Oscar-winning(and worthy)performance,this simple yet intriguing movie runs at a somewhat surprisingly fast clip(just over an hour and forty minutes)is able to leave mark. While it may seem like Mirren's Queen is all that this show is about,watching this will show you much more.