Interesting, and backed with a majestic performance from Mirren

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2007)

I was apprehensive about seeing The Queen when it first came out. Yeah, it had the Oscar buzz, but it really did not seem like it would be anything special. I had seen Capote the year before and almost fell asleep in the theatre with how boring it was, save for the earth-shattering performance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman. But with the continued buzz, I just could not help myself, and surprisingly, it was a whole lot better than I imagined it would be.
Helen Mirren plays the titular role of Elizabeth II in the film which takes place in 1997. Following a short interlude in May during the election of Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) to Prime Minister, the film quickly changes to August on the night of Princess Diana's death. The monarchy is visibly shaken up, but refuses to say anything to the equally shaken up British public. The film then chronicles the week leading up to Diana's funeral, and hypothetically plays out what happened during this time.
While the movie is not perfect, it is much more than just a platform "Oscar-gimme" for Mirren. The film is interesting and enlightening all at once in its depiction of the royal family. One would imagine it would be quite a spectacle behind closed doors, but they are played off to be just like every other family (of course, with a sprawlingly lengthy and beautiful backyard). The amazing photography and costume designs really pull forward the absolute majesty of the monarchy, and feel intensely authentic. I also liked how, even with the accents, the characters did not seem overly British. Some films really amp up the accent, but here, it is very low key, and barely noticeable. It was a nice change of pace, and made it not feel totally different like other foreign films. I also liked how the film made great use of archived newspapers and television broadcasts from the time. It helped make the film much more historically accurate, and allowed the film's events feel more recent than it is.
The writing is note-worthy in how well it was done to produce a hypothetical story for what happened over those few days. It informs, while humouring the audience from time to time. The humanization of the royal family is not an easy task, but writer Peter Morgan really pulls through in how well his characters are written. Of course, it also packs in a bit too much action over this one week period. Some moments are totally worthwhile, while others just feel tacked on for no reason. It makes the film feel boring at times, and allows it to lose the edge it had going in. Other scenes are whip fast, and perfect in their length, so it really just feels like an issue that should have been dealt with during editing. A particular sequence involving Mirren and Sheen quickly jumps from a regular visit to see the Queen, to a total politically driven mockery of Tony Blair. It felt totally out of place, and more of just something to giggle at than something that actually was worth putting into the film.
As pointed out already, Mirren is absolutely awe-inspiring in her role. Her look, mannerisms, body language and speech all look and sound exactly like the real Queen. She embodies her character much like Hoffman did Truman Capote, and she breathes life into an otherwise only momentarily interesting public figure. Her majesty and grace may look simple, but you can see just how much work she has put into the role to make it feel more than just believable. This is the kind of role that really shakes things up, and proves how well some actors can act on screen, and how much better she is than the majority of working actors today. I will say though, for all of the hype and amazement being placed on the role, she did not strike me as nearly astonishing as Hoffman or Jamie Foxx. She does a much better job than Charlize Theron did in Monster, but then again, Mirren's acting really has not changed all that drastically like Theron's did for her role.
The supporting cast does a very amicable job in their roles, and again, are not completely pushed away by the majesty of Mirren. Sheen's spot-on performance of Tony Blair is particularly well done, and plays off wonderfully against Mirren and on his own. He has some genuine charisma in this role, and has just the right amount of timidness. Blair was fresh off of his election when Diana died, and you can see how well Sheen handles the daunting task of how he handled the situation being so new in office. James Cromwell also does pretty well for himself as Prince Phillip, as does Alex Jennings as Prince Charles (besides not totally looking all that much like Charles, particularly in his ears).
It has some editing issues, but on the whole, The Queen is a whole lot better than what I expected. It is interesting, and has an excellent and award-worthy performance from Helen Mirren to back it up. Definitely one to check out.
8/10.