Product: Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 5.0
get this movie ! You will enjoy it.
"Victoria and Albert" is a stunning costume drama concentrating on the early part of their marriage with some brief scenes in the later years culminating in the death of Albert. The film is well-written and well-acted and well worth seeing.So many films about Victoria concentrate upon the long years as a widow. It is refreshing to see her here as a giddy young teenager just handed the keys to the largest empire in the world. The adolescent battles with her mother would rock the kingdom. She is clearly reluctant to share her power and majesty with a husband, especially her dour straight-laced cousin Albert whom her family wants her to marry. However the 'arranged' part of the marriage goes out the window during a visit when Victoria conveniently falls in love with Albert and desires him for the many qualities that she perceives in him.Despite her great love for him the early years are especially tempestuous as Albert struggles to fulfill the role that his family has raised him for. Victoria's ministers despise the German prince and struggle to keep him from becoming the power behind the throne (a position they want for themselves). Albert serves as something of a gigolo to the young woman and this is the cause of many 'storms' within the palace. Through hard work and ability Albert is able to bring the Queen around and become a key figure in Victoria's reign.Sure this is not a history book, and many things go by the wayside. Their shocking inability as parents to view their children as more than diplomatic tools is a sad reality. In the movie this gets brushed aside for the most part (although Victoria is shown as being more concerned about doing her duty and having a son than about her child). This can be easily overlooked as the movie is "Victoria and Albert" not "Victoria, Albert, Vicky, Bertie, Alice, Affie, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice". The fact is that Albert mostly saw his children as ways to expand his power throughout Europe and into the future, Victoria mostly saw her young children as people who made Albert happy or cross. Since this movie is mostly about their early years of marriage the short shrift given to the children was understandable. It is a love story about two people and in that it succeeds.Give that this show attempts to compress a marriage of over twenty years into a little more than 3 and half hours, it is a remarkable accomplishment and I highly recommend it. It is captivating from start to finish.