Elevated by two heavyweight performances

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2007)

It may be called The Queen but Stephen Frears' Oscar-buzzing film is every bit as much about Tony Blair as it is her majesty. Covering the week in September before and after Diana's death, the film focuses on two perspectives, one being the newly appointed Prime Minister, whose popularity soars after proclaiming Diana as "the people's princess", and that of the Royals, in particular the Queen's decision not to make a public statement about Diana, since she was no longer a member of their family. The Queen is about the battle between stoic traditionalism and modernity (with the two central figures representing the clash of both philosophies). And whilst the film itself is nothing truly remarkable, the weight gathered by the superb central performances of Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen elevate it beyond an ITV-style movie special. What is really baffling however, is that the Queen apparently enjoyed this allegedly anti-monarchist fable.