Royalty falters in mourning the Princess, Blair saves the day

Rating: 7/10 (16 November 2006)

I never expected a movie about as dull a subject as the royal family's reaction to the death of Princess Diana to be so interesting. Tony Blair is cast in a hero's role (did the 'Vote for Tony' people make this movie?) and the royals look quite bad with Charles looking doltish throughout and Prince Phillip as a totally selfish, pompous curmudgeon. The truly interesting character and indeed the stellar performance of the film was Helen Mirren's Queen Elizabeth II. She is shown as a private, stoic woman, who might be out of touch with the commoners, but is willing to slowly change herself and her actions to save their views of monarchy and to meet the needs of her subjects. By the end of the film, one feels quite vigorously in favor of Queen Elizabeth and her rule, but sees that monarchy in Britain may and probably should end with her.
This movie is like sponge cake topped with strawberries. When you think of sponge cake, you think of bland, spongy, edible foam. But when you get a good sponge cake the sweetness and texture isn't bland at all, and if you top it with good strawberries, it adds a delicate sharpness to the whole. You now have an intricate dessert, easy to understand, but complex in its flavor and not heavy on the stomach or guilty in the mind. 7/10
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