A Tour de Force for Helen Mirren in a Film That Deserves Her

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2006)

I was in college when Princess Diana died in a sensational car accident, brought about by a flock of determined paparazzi. To be honest, I didn't pay that much attention to the events going on across the pond. I was really no more than a child for much of the time that Diana was capturing the imagination of the American people, so I didn't fully understand her allure, and I certainly didn't understand, or care much, about the politics of the royal family.
So watching "The Queen," Stephen Frears' wonderfully fluid account of the few days following the death of Di and its impact on the royal family, I had the uneasy feeling one gets when he realizes that something of extreme cultural importance has happened right under his nose without his realizing it. I had much the same feeling during "Hotel Rwanda." It's the "I didn't realize all of THAT was going on" experience.
I don't know how accurate "The Queen" is, and I don't know that anyone save Her Majesty herself could know for sure. Certainly it's an awfully one-sided movie. In Frears' version of events, Tony Blair single-handedly saves the monarchy from the vitriol of the British people. It's only through his dogged determination that Elizabeth grudgingly lets go of her royal principles and gives the people what they need -- that is, a sign that the royal family is comprised of a group of people with actual blood in their veins and feelings in their hearts. Michael Sheen, an unfamiliar actor to me, plays Blair beautifully; his performance goes beyond mere mimicry and conveys both the exhilaration and overwhelming sense of responsibility felt by a man who happens to find himself in a job for which he happens to be perfectly suited at one of the most critical moments in his country's history.
But though everything is greatly slanted toward Blair, the film does a good job of cluing us in to Elizabeth's point of view as well. Here's a lady who inherited a job she did not choose, and who by the very nature of that job is turned into a media spectacle against her will. It's important to remember that during the moments when her and her family's callousness toward Diana and her death borders on the inhuman; in their minds, Diana played a large role in her own death, and payed a fair price for the stardom she received in return. In Elizabeth's mind, the way the British people behave smacks of hypocrisy; they cry out for blood for the media that caused Diana's death, yet want to hang the royal family for not putting themselves and their grief on display.
Navigating the tricky waters of this tricky part is one of our greatest living actresses, Helen Mirren. Because I like her so much, it gives me great pleasure to say that her performance lives up to its hype. She gives what is so rare in films these days -- a tour de force of expert acting. Just watch her face and gestures throughout this film for the tiny nuances that speak volumes. Mirren has been buzzed about as the front-runner for this year's Oscar race since this movie opened, and for once I find the buzz completely justified. The Academy has a chance to show the world that it can, against all appearances to the contrary, recognize true art and talent when it sees it, so of course they'll probably botch things and give the award instead to a glamour puss who will look better on the cover of "People" magazine. But Mirren I'm sure will be the winner in many people's hearts regardless.
Frears keeps things moving along with quick editing and a fantastic, staccato score whose effectiveness rests on its judicial use. There's something disorienting yet exciting about watching a movie about people who are alive and well, and still serving in the same roles as their fictional selves on screen. In some ways, "The Queen" feels like it should have come out last year, when a number of other relevant, terse and immensely engrossing films flooded the screens. Though if it had, it would have been one great film among many, whereas this year is has quickly risen to the cream of the crop.
Grade: A