Sensational Film

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2006)

This is a sensational film that deserves every accolade it has received. For the first few minutes of the film I was aware that Helen Mirren was playing a part but for the remainder I thought I was privy to the Queen of England and her personal thoughts. The goal of all acting is to make one forget they are watching a performance. Helen Mirren gives a wonderful performance that is the cornerstone of a wonderful film, at once showing the Queen as musty and magnificent. This is a film that everyone in Britain can embrace. You see all sides of the fallout following the car accident death of Princess Diana in Paris and you feel empathy for all those sides. For an American, I perhaps finally had an inkling as to what the monarchy means to Britain -- a cornerstone of their democracy, a keeper of tradition and their national integrity, immune to the random opinion and yet sensitive to its people. This is a film that lays out the monarchy to criticism and admiration at the same time -- quite a feat. Cheers for Helen Mirren and director Stephen Frears -- for me this is the film of 2006!