The Queen – A powerful film about the Queen

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2013)

If you are looking for a film for the weekend, you should have look at "The Queen". This film was directed by Stephen Frears and is set in London in the year 1997. "The Queen" deals with the reactions after the death of Lady Diana nobody could have predicted. In the year 1997 Tony Blair becomes the British prime minister. He wants to modernise the British monarchy, but he promises to respect the Royal Family. Later on Lady Diana dies in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris. Alastair Campbell, Blair's director of communications, prepares a speech for Tony Blair. In this speech, Lady Diana is described as "the people's princess". Tony Blair gives it the next day. In the next few days, millions of people come to the Buckingham Palace and the whole front court is flower-decked. Along the way, the Royal family are still at the Balmoral Castle. There they watch the news and it becomes clear that a year earlier Lady Diana was no longer part of the family. The Queen gets criticized from the British nation and the number of anti-monarchists grows. But Tony Blair does not share these opinions. He immediately calls the Queen at Balmoral and three strong measures to regain public confidence for the monarchy: attend the funeral for Diana, fly a Union flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace and speak to the nation in a televised address. But to find out how the film ends, you will have to view it yourself. It will be worth it!
In terms of language, the film is full of humorous effects. The Queen is represented as a funny and humorous person. All the cinematic devices used in the film serve a function and achieve their intended effect. For example the use of original interviews and videos of Princess Diana creates authenticity.
In sum, this film is very interesting, especially for people who are interested in the British monarchy.
Lukas Hennig