This was nearly as much a film about Princess Di as it was about Queen Elizabeth.

Rating: Null/10 (8 November 2006)

This was nearly as much a film about Princess Di as it was about Queen Elizabeth. The film takes place largely over the ten days following Diana's death when England mourned publicly and the Queen hid away at the Royal retreat at Balmoreal. I'm not sure the value of this sort of film. It's great that the Queen is a real person and all but did we think she wasn't? As an exploration of changing English values, stiff upper lip gives way to public wailing, I think the jury may still be out on that. Maybe it's about the power of television to equalize. Di beats Liz like she stole something sort of thing? No, that can't be. Maybe it's just what it appears to be, a study of The Queen. As such it certainly succeeds. We can't help but like the poor dear when she breaks her aging Land Rover, expertly diagnoses the problem, calls for help, sobs silently over her travails, admires and saves a beautiful deer from certain death. In one three minute scene we see her competence, humanity, vulnerability and love of nature. It's all done perfectly by the sure handed Stephen Frears and could, as a short film, accomplished the same objective. But then we would have missed the footage of Diana and, sap that I am, I was as moved by that as I was Mirren's powerful and understated performance.