Grande Dame

Rating: 7/10 (15 September 2006)

The magnificent Helen Mirren dominates this entertaining film. The deft script daisy-petal picks the issues off one by one. The dovetailing of archive footing with scenes recreated for the movie is excellently done, the pacing is certain - all in all, everything one would expect from the practised hand of Stephen Frears. The fine supporting cast includes two of the UK's most distinguished theatre actors - Roger Allam and Alex Jennings - as well as Michael Sheen delighting us with his well-practised and beautifully observed Tony Blair. The whole thing has the feel of a made-for-TV movie, in spite of the breathtaking helicopter shots of the Scottish Highlands. I'm not sure that it amounts to much, but there's no reason to complain about one-and-three-quarter hours of Dame Helen - she's terrific.