God save the Queen. Mirren kicks major ass

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2007)

Very surprising. I wouldn't have thought that I would enjoy this so much. A potential snore was made one of the best views of 2006 by the two protagonists, wonderfully played by Helen Mirren and the relative newcomer, Michael Sheen as Tony Blair.
The prologue, dealing with Princess Diana is ingenious. You are not really sure if you are watching a reenactment or archival footage of the paparazzi chase that would end in horrible tragedy.
Then we get a marvelous scene where Blair and his wife are waiting inside the Palace. Blair is to be sworn in as PM. We already know that he is not too keen on the monarchy and actually thinks that it's a bit of a joke from a discussion between him and his wife. As they meet we immediately sense that although Blair would like to say that it is him that's in charge, the Queen immediately puts him to shame, not by being bossy but simply being such by he empowerment.
Now we get to the real plot: How to deal with Diana's death and it is here the two personalities come to blows. And from then on it's Mirren's movie all the way. The Queen doesn't invite much sympathy but we start to understand her and why she acts like she does. When we finally get to the inevitable turnaround, we don't feel that Blair was more right because he finally won the Queen over, but we feel sadness because it really hasn't changed anything, except giving the people what they wanted.
The epilogue is a scene reminiscent of the prologue, where Blair acts as he knows how to deal with the Queen but in reality he knows nothing more than he did before.
The performances are all great and special kudos also to James Cromwell. He may be playing a totally foppish character but he does it brilliantly. Mirren's Oscar was totally deserved and Sheen almost channels Blair, even though their resemblance is only slight.