Th week when the English monarchy faltered

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2008)

To confront the Queen of England, Tony Blair and the death of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, was dramatic at the time but has totally aged today. And the film has aged to. This big vignette, this enormous cameo in normal life that this week after the tragic end of a young woman was has become quaint, charmingly quaint but with little meaning left. During that week, or even that summer, the monarchy nearly fell in England but the Queen, though surrounded by too many people who were deaf and blind, managed to hear the piece of advice given to her by Tony Blair and she followed it and saved that monarchy. Is that what happened or not? That is not the problem. It is reassuring to believe it is what happened. But it is also important to understand that in today's world what counts is public opinion. We may think public opinion is looking for emotional and sentimental empathy instead of real deep inner grief. But this public opinion remains the yardstick with which we are to measure and determine our behavior. Apparently Stephen Frears wants to make us believe that Elizabeth II did feel and understand the necessity to accept that rule. Something of the kind surely happened. Yet the film is in no way transcendingly immortal. The best part remains Helen Mirren who is embodying a Queen that is superbly heart raking and soul moving.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines