Queen and country

Rating: 10/10 (5 April 2007)

Suffice to say, this was a magnificent portrayal of a potentially inflammable situation drama. The 'wet behind the ears' Prime Minister - beautifully brought to life by Michael Sheen with an edge of Rory Bremner, counteracted Her Majesty as the fool with King Lear. Helen Mirren, who will be forever associated with this role, duly complied with all that could be expected and played the weaknesses and strengths of an impotent monarch to perfection.
Helen McCrory, so often miscast (Anna Karenina? I don't think so.), was very good as Cherie, right down to that awkward walk, and that silly head-toss. James Cromwell (last seen by me in LA Confidential) did a fantastic job - Prince Philip is a daft combination of sense and nonsense, loyalty and betrayal - and Cromwell got this down to a 'T'. Sylvia Syms got to play a significant role which she managed very well, considering. I love Sylvia Syms, have always loved her, since Ice Cold In Alex, but she is, like me, overblown in middle age. But she got across the humanity combined with dignity that our beloved Queen Mother always had - and a caustic sense of humour to boot.
Restraint is not the keynote of films these days, but this film excelled in this most under-rated of virtues. My only criticism? The melodramatic intrusion of the 'Monarch of the Glen' and the Queen's emotional reaction. Appropriate to Balmoral, yes; to the plot of this film, no. But ... we can forgive Stephen Frears for taking a little licence here - one can't dispute it was a crucial moment in the film where Frears turned the audience's sympathy from Diana to the Queen.
This film could have quite an influence on the way the British Public's loyalty transfers back towards our monarchy, and away from Diana.
This is a film highlight which everyone (in Europe and America anyway) should see.
Jackie Scott-Mandeville, St Conan's Tower, Scotland