a wonderful lesson in humanity

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2008)

This film follows Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom, and Tony Blair at the time of Princess Diana's death. Elizabeth, played by Helen Mirren, is a rich character. The goal of the director was not to praise or to condemn the queen or her actions. What this film achieves is much greater than making you love or hate Elizabeth. Instead, this film leads you to consider the fact that every celebrity you see on television, every stranger you see on the street, and every friend or enemy you've found in life is simply human. Every one of them has committed some sin at some point in life, and yet every one of them has suffered. Every human is imperfect, yet we all deserve some sympathy at some point.
Elizabeth, like many famous people, is someone whom we have all seen on television many times. Some people envy or even despise her for her easy life. True, I would prefer to be born into great wealth than great poverty, but one is being naive if one believes that queens never struggle. In this film, we see that Elizabeth tries very hard to do what is right, but she suffers when many people are outraged by her actions. Like all of us (but on a much greater scale), the queen struggles with the old adage that states, "You can't please all the people all the time."
Does the incredible weight of the queen's struggles put her on a pedestal high above us, her flawed subjects who fail to understand the difficulties of her existence? Not at all. On the contrary, this film shows us that Elizabeth has just as much trouble understanding her subjects as they have understanding her. Thus, the queen's flaws equal the flaws of the commoners. Ultimately, the lesson is that the queen is simply human. Like the rest of us, she tries to do what is right but often fails. Like all of us, she is flawed.