A compelling film

Rating: 8/10 (22 September 2006)

The opening scene of most films has to establish some facts, but the Queen bemoaning her lack of a vote to a portrait painter seemed contrived. After this shaky start, Helen Mirren's performance as the Queen is convincing, but Prunella Scales got closer to her detached competence in 'A Question of Attribution'. All the other performances were also excellent.
There have been only a few times since the War that the whole of the UK had the same mood. (News of the invasion of the Falklands and 11 September 2001 were similar times.) I had almost forgotten the strange atmosphere in that week. Even though the public did not really know Diana, they thought they did and so the feeling of loss was universal. This film brought this back and gave a plausible account of what happened, though the truth may have been different.
A few people come out of it badly: the Queen's private secretary who appeared so deferential that he dared not give the Queen vital advice while she was isolated at Balmoral; Cherie Blair whose seemed to be a frustrated tricoteuse; Alistair Campbell whose only principles seemed to be based on getting favourable headlines; and Charles who just appeared wet. Again reality may have been different, though I suspect not very different.
At least one good joke went unnoticed by many. Blair says "Tell Gordon (Brown) to hang on". Something that Brown is still doing over nine years later.
Incidentally, fourteen-point stags are old animals that have to be culled or they may starve in the coming winter. (I nevertheless dislike people doing it for fun.) If the stag was supposed to be a metaphor for Diana, I struggled to work out what it was trying to say.
All in all well worth seeing.