Victoria Sponge

Rating: 5/10 (6 March 2009)

Britain's longest serving Monarch gets a style makeover in The Young Victoria, transforming her from a grief stricken Judi Dench to a young and feisty Emily Blunt (with snazzy clothes, pearly white teeth and a spray on tan).
The film follows Victoria as a queen in waiting, unable to take control of her life and the throne until she is 18. Imprisoned in her Kensington Palace, she is bullied by a power hungry politician who has been allowed to rule the family nest by her weak willed mother. All the while overseas her uncle is training a young Prince Albert the art of seducing the soon to be Queen in the hope of retaining some political advantage over his rivals in Europe. You can imagine the young Princess feeling trapped, used almost like a pawn in some sort of chess match well actually you don't need to imagine it, the obvious metaphors and visual imagery give it away. Constant shots of gates shutting, keys turning, and doors slamming do the trick and if this doesn't work the chess game between Victoria and Albert with all eyes watching should hammer it home.
The overburden narrative picks up pace once Victoria takes over the throne from William IV (played by a bellowing but amusing Jim Broadbent). The costumes and locations become more sumptuous as we are introduced to the world in which Victoria must find her feet. This she does, skipping lightly into her court only to be faced with the sudden realisation that life as a Queen can be a lonely one. She makes mistakes, faces tough decisions and relies on advisors that perhaps have their own interests in mind (draw your obvious comparisons to Cate Blancett's rip roaring Elizabeth I here). Sidelined in Germany, Albert must wait until he is summoned by the Queen to take his place by her side. Once he does the love story takes stride and it is satisfyingly sweet although not as bodice ripping as one might have hoped.
This is the crux of the problem; the film is merely satisfying on a visual leave, more Victorian Sponge than Crème Brule. The plot's political conspiracies are not deceptive enough to carry the story so tends to falter and the two love interests do not see enough of each other to make this film burn with passion. The decision to fictionalise parts of the story by allowing Prince Albert to get shot while trying to protect Victoria from an assassin just makes the flaws in the narrative all the more obvious. It is a shame because the cast is full of strong actors and the story of Queen Victoria and the era in which she reigned is fascinating. Personally I would like to have seen more of the intense desire and attraction that Albert and Victoria shared which produced nine children and led her to mourn his passing everyday for the 40 years that followed his death.
Stunning costumes - tick. Gorgeous scenery  tick. Romance and Intrigue at court  tick. The Young Victoria is a paint by numbers historical drama, beautiful to look at but could do with a little more originality and substance.