The Queen

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2006)

Surprisingly, as a monarchist, I enjoyed this film very much. Helen Mirren was superb.
One aspect of this film which I did not like, and I thought was over the top, was the dialogue of James Cromwell (Prince Phillip). No one will ever know exactly what the members of the Royal Family said to one another at this time. In once scene, Phillip states how Princess Margaret said that "Diana is more annoying in death, than in life". By all accounts, Princesses Margaret and Diana were friendly and Diana admired Margaret very much. I cannot for one moment believe that Margaret would have been so callous. For the writers of this film to associate this statement with the Queen's sister was unfair. Further, when Charles and Diana's marriage was crumbling, those close to the Royal Family have consistently said that no one tried harder than Phillip to save the marriage. He truly liked Diana, as evidenced by his decision to walk behind her casket in the funeral procession.
The dead cannot respond, let alone living members of the Royal family.
The inference in the film that Charles was trying to align himself with Tony Blair to dodge an imagined assassin's bullet, and in doing so make his Mother the target, is just sheer stupidity! As an Australian citizen, Elizabeth the Second is my Head of State, and I have always had the utmost respect for her commitment to her role and her duty to her people. For nearly 55 years she has served with great districting.
I always thought that the treatment of the Queen following Diana's death was incredibly unfair. The hysteria over the flag above Buckingham palace (of which there is none when the Monarch is not in residence) is a perfect example of the unjustified, and at times hysterical, criticism of the Queen during this time.