Her Majesty Helen Mirren

Rating: 9/10 (12 October 2006)

During the opening credits of Stephen Frears' The Queen, as soon as the title appears, Helen Mirren turns and looks straight into the camera. That look, and the sense of confidence it conveys, makes us realize she was the perfect choice for the portrayal of HM Elizabeth II (notably, she also played Elizabeth I in a TV miniseries).
Mirren's presence is fundamental to this film, which doesn't recount Elizabeth's entire life (that would have required a picture at least twice as long as Frears'opus), but just one crucial week which saw the monarchy at risk.
It starts with Tony Blair's victory at the 1997 elections. The newly appointed PM (Michael Sheen, who previously played the politician in Frears' TV movie The Deal) is sent to meet the Queen, in order to be officially given his new job. Despite his modern attitude ("Call me Tony"), he can't but observe old traditions when facing her. It is undoubted she has the power, as well as the people's trust.
Alas, that's not going to last, as one night she's told Princess Diana (seen in archive footage) has been involved in an accident, subsequently followed by her death. The whole nation is struck by grief. Not the Queen, who insists on staying in Balmoral, Scotland (the Royal Family's summer residence) until the fuss has died out. Only it doesn't. Everyone questions her attitude, claiming the "people's princess", as Blair calls Diana, doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. Even when told 4 people out of 7 think the monarchy should end, she remains adamant about her decision, with the support of her husband (James Cromwell), who comments on the events with the sardonic "Sleeping in the streets and pulling out their hair for someone they never knew. And they think we're mad!".
Given the content of Frears' most known films (The Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters), one might expect him to deliver a critique against either the Queen or the people. Instead, he prefers to show us both sides of the coin, justifying Her Majesty's behavior and everyone else's reaction. Furthermore, despite the subject matter, he envisages The Queen as a comedy, and delivers a film that manages to be funny without making anyone look ridiculous or geeky (even Blair, in spite of some antics, emerges as a real, likable person). The British humor is very dry (it's more The Office than Monty Python), and that's one of this movie's major qualities (if it has a defect, it would be the fact that it's merely 97 minutes long; another half-hour wouldn't have annoyed me).
However, The Queen would be nothing without Helen Mirren's towering turn as the English monarch. There is strong support from Cromwell (his remarks on Diana's behavior and his reaction at the announcement of Elton John's presence at the princess's funeral are among the movie's funniest, but also most poignant moments) and the spot-on Sheen, but it's Mirren who gives the film its heart and soul. Chances of her receiving an Oscar nomination ( it would be her third, after The Madness of King George and Gosford Park) are very high, and it would only be fair if she won too, since she truly deserves it. It's not likely we'll see a finer performance this year.