A bit simple

Rating: 5/10 (11 February 2007)

This is a decent movie. Whether it deserves the raves it's getting is something else. It's adequate and in particular a sub-plot about the Queen's identification with a stag is nice, but... even the best movies today suffer from perfectly streamlined plots, uncomplicated by anything not directly related to plot; which indicates you're watching a simplified non-rich movie world. "Plenty" or "Scandal" which concern the upper crust in Britain, are richer, fuller experiences. I think even Caddyshack has more complexity (structurally) than most dramas these days. That's not good.
I feel for the movie queen as acted and portrayed by Mirren, but when I think of the actual Queen I'm still cold. Even my sainted grandmother thought QE2 was a guttersnipe for her chilly reaction to DI's death. Tony Blair's big scene (his conversion) is not adequate; Frears barely bothers to set it up.
The film seems to end, at which point a more conventional finish comes, which is a bit too pat and literal. The queen hints that Blair will have his painful moment in the spotlight in the future. Apparently Blair becoming Bush's lapdog and his ejection which will come later this year are what this unsubtle moment is pussyfoooting around.