Splendid recreation of events surrounding Diana's death...

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2007)

HELEN MIRREN is, of course, the focal point in THE QUEEN, but MICHAEL SHEEN as Tony Blair certainly more than matches her in the role of Britain's youngest prime minister. The two of them give towering performances that will remain indelibly impressed on your mind after viewing the film. Mirren is all crisp elegance and Sheen is a charmer who knows how to use his powers of persuasion. Both of them are ideally cast in roles they seem to inhabit with consummate ease.
The screenplay deals with the unpleasant private events unfolding at the palace while the public mourning was obviously so great that it had to be acknowledged. The Queen preferred keeping tight-lipped and dignified, obviously not a woman who was pleased with Diana's conduct. Nor was her husband Prince Philip (JAMES CROMWELL) or Prince Charles (ALEX JENNINGS) who at least reminded his mother that Diana loved her children dearly.
Handsomely photographed with newsreel footage of the crowds that began swelling shortly after Diana's demise in that tragic accident, its dialog is convincing throughout, concise and to the point without any frills whatsoever. The only weakness in the casting would seem to be SYLVIA SYMS as the Queen Mother who somehow doesn't look the role.
The original background score by Alexandre Desplat is worthy of note, always appropriate and sometimes majestic. The scene with The Queen seeing the stag on the hillside while waiting for her car to be repaired is a standout, beautifully played.
Summing up: A rare treat, and a slice of history well worth remembering with the shift from the old monarchy to the modernized ideas of a young Prime Minister emphasized in the script.