Quirky and thought provoking

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2007)

Helen Mirren is unquestionably the star of this show, giving a performance that is remarkable for her refusal to play on our sympathies. Nevertheless, by the end of the story, the viewer has caught a glimpse of the real person who has been the Queen of England for more than 50 years.
James Cromwell is a delightfully bumbling and insensitive Prince Phillip, and the other cast members are also very good.
Worth seeing for Mirren's performance alone; however, this is also a well directed movie with excellent support performances and a smart script which sensitively charts the Queen's realisation that times have changed and she has not changed with them