Not So Much

Rating: 7/10 (10 February 2007)

I might be the only person in the universe with criticism for The Queen. Usually one for action movies and the occasional comedy, this wouldn't normally have been a pick for me, except that I was a Diana fan, and continue to follow the current Royal family as best I can from this side of the Pond.
The other qualifier is that I get obstinate when I hear how wonderful a movie is, that it's a masterpiece, that it's "intelligent," that it's a shoo-in for loads of Oscars. Right away, I brace myself for something slow, something even boring, or just downright so "intelligent," that it fails to connect with me in anyway. (So, okay, I am really a low-brow movie-goer but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed Crouching Tiger.)
From my perspective then, I found The Queen ponderously slow and too understated. Absorbing, yes; even faintly riveting. Mirren as Her Maj, was amazing, yes, as was Michael Sheen (as Tony Blair). The writing (Peter Morgan), was excellent and delivered with elegance and perfect timing by a skilled and talented cast. BUT, in my opinion, there was not nearly enough tension between Royal family members themselves and the Spencer family, of whom we saw or heard very little, with the exception of bits of Earl Spencer's eulogy. There was rumored to have been some blowout arguments between Prince Charles and his mother and father, about whether he (Charles) should have gone at all to Paris to recover Diana's body. To those not "into" the British royal family, there is as much politics within the family as in the House of Commons. But there was very little of that. All these might have been included to show exactly how much was brought to bear on the subject of the film, The Queen.
About the Stag: yes, I thought it was a symbol for Diana at first. But why was the Queen crying in the first place? Was it because of the pressures of that week? Or was it because her Land Rover broke down in the middle of the river? Was she mourning the loss of Diana?! Another commentator thought the Stag was a symbol for the Queen and her way of life.
I am going to have to give this a 7, for a lack of intensity. While I agree that Mirren and Sheen give sterling performances, with top-notch direction and writing, there was/is much material that could have both enriched and given a gritty, rough-edged quality when life is interrupted by death.