The Queen

Plot synopsis:
The film begins on the eve of the 1997 British general election, which sees Tony Blair (Sheen) elected as the United Kingdom's first Labour Party Prime Minister in 18 years. While posing for an official portrait, the Queen (Mirren) talks with the artist and expresses her regret about not being allowed to vote. She is slightly wary of the new prime minister and his pledge to "modernise" the country, but Blair promises to respect the independence of the Royal Family. When Blair visits Buckingham Palace to kiss hands, the Queen follows custom and asks him to form a Government in her name.Three months later, during a visit to Paris, Diana, Princess of Wales is killed in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul. Blair's director of communications, Alastair Campbell (Mark Bazeley), immediately prepares a speech in which he describes her as "the people's princess." Blair gives the speech the next morning and the phrase catches on immediately. Over the next few days, millions of British people in London erupt in an outpouring of grief, as they flock to Buckingham and Kensington palaces to leave floral tributes and notes.Meanwhile, the Royal Family are still on their summer residence at Balmoral Castle, the Queen's estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Diana's death immediately sparks division among senior members of the family; while the Queen is saddened by Diana's death, she and her husband differ with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales over what arrangements should be made. The Queen observes that since Diana divorced Charles (Alex Jennings) a year earlier, she is no longer a member of the Royal Family. Consequently, she insists that the funeral arrangements are a "private affair" and are best left to the princess's own family, the Spencers. A visibly grief stricken Prince Charles, however, argues that Diana was mother of the future King and that the Queen's suggestion is dismissive of this fact. Following her mother's suggestion, the Queen eventually sanctions the use of an aircraft of the Royal Flight to bring Diana's body back to Britain. Charles ensures that his ex-wife's coffin is draped with a Royal Standard instead of remaining a "wooden crate."In London, the bouquets begin to pile up along the palace railings, forcing the changing of the guard to use another gate. Meanwhile, British tabloids become increasingly inflammatory about the lack of any statement by the Royal Family. Prince Charles, during a brief conversation with Blair and later through back-channel contacts, leaves no doubt that he shares the Prime Minister's views about the need for a more public expression of grief. As the Queen's ratings plummet, Blair's popularity rises sharply, to the delight of the his Anti-Monarchist advisers and wife Cherie (Helen McCrory).Blair, however, does not share these sentiments. Despite not concurring with the Queen's course of action, he admires her and tells his wife that a Republican Britain is a ludicrous idea. Later on, he angrily denounces the anti-royal disdain of his Labour advisors and accuses Diana of having tried to destroy everything which the monarchy stands for. After days of building pressure, Blair calls the Queen at Balmoral and urgently recommends a course of action he believes is needed to regain the public's confidence in the monarchy. These measures include attending a public funeral for Diana at Westminster Abbey, flying a Union flag at half mast over Buckingham Palace (the flag is only meant to be flown when a Royal person is present and has never been used for mourning), and speaking to the nation about Diana's legacy in a live, televised address from the palace.Blair's recommendations outrage Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (James Cromwell) and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (Sylvia Syms). Philip is also surprised that Elton John is asked to attend and sing a song, "Candle in the Wind" in Diana's honour. They view such steps as an undignified surrender to public hysteria, created by the tabloids, that will eventually calm down when the public comes to its senses. The Queen seems more concerned about this and although she shares their feelings, she begins to have doubts as she closely follows the news coverage. Speaking with her mother, the Queen muses that there has been some shift in public values, that perhaps she should step aside and hand over the monarchy to the next generation. The Queen Mother dismisses these ideas, however, saying that she is one of the greatest assets the monarchy has ever had, stated: "The real problem will come when you leave." She also reminds her daughter of the promise she made in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 21, 1947, her 21st birthday, in which she promised that her "whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong..."Later at Balmoral, Philip attempts to distract his grandsons from their mother's death by taking them deer stalking. While venturing out alone in her Land Rover, the Queen damages her vehicle while fording a river and has to call for assistance. While waiting, she weeps in frustration but then catches sight of the majestic Red Deer stag which her grandsons have been stalking. Hearing a distant gunshot, she shoos the animal away. Later that day, the Queen decides to carry out the recommendations of Blair. While preparing to return to London, she is horrified to learn that the stag has been killed on a neighbouring estate, by a visiting stockbroker. She visits the estate where the stag is being dressed and expresses dismay at the amateurish way it was hunted.In the film's climax, the Royal Family return to London and inspect the floral tributes. The Queen also goes on live television to speak about Diana's life and legacy, even going so far as calling her "an exceptional and gifted human being." Two months later, Blair comes to Buckingham Palace for a weekly meeting. The Queen has regained her popularity, but believes she will never quite fully recover from "that week." She cautions Blair that one day he too will find that public opinion can rapidly turn against him. She declares, however, that times have changed and that the monarchy must "modernise." When Blair suggests that he can help with this, The Queen responds, "Don't get ahead of yourself Prime Minister. Remember, I'm supposed to be the one advising you".

Tags: boring

Review:
This glowing, suspenseful docudrama retells the story of the days of upheaval in London and elsewhere, in 1997, shortly after Tony Blair had just won for Labor, by steering clear of trades unions and welfare statism, while flogging his "let's modernize Britain" program, window-dressing for his Clinton-like political shift to the right.Then, on August 31, Princess Diana, recently divorced from Prince Charles, was killed in a high speed auto accident in midtown Paris.
Dramatized are many vignettes that bring together the major personalities at the center of the highly public dilemma that unfolded in the few days following Diana's passing.Helen Mirren was, as they say, born to play Queen Elizabeth II.
Besides The Queen, we have The Queen Mother (Sylvia Syms), Prince Philip (James Cromwell), Prince Charles (Alex Jennings), Mr. Blair (Michael Sheen), and their respective retainers, playing out at close range their responses to one another, within the framework of a taut cultural and political crisis, one that is, above all else, a threat to public support of the Monarchy.This drama takes place in an enervating, though also suppressed, emotional atmosphere, the tension level constantly ratcheted up by the principals' responses to pressures from the public and the press.
The point is made crystal clear in the film: Elizabeth's seemingly callous aloofness from the public in the wake of Diana's death is the result of her conviction, based on her upbringing, that duty must come first, that stoicism is the face one shows the world, while personal feelings are an entirely private matter, hence not to be aired in public.
The English way.According to this film narrative, Queen Elizabeth makes a serious miscalculation when she fails to consider, or perhaps even to perceive, the fact that the terms of public discourse - perhaps especially with regard to the open expression of personal sentiments - have changed radically around the world.
It is a staggering achievement.Director Stephen Frears, using a superb script by Peter Morgan, details the time from the election of Labor Party Prime Minister Tony Blair (a brilliant Michael Sheen) to that momentous international outpouring of grief and love that followed the tragic death of Princess Di in 1997, showing the bifurcation of response between the Royals and the People as represented by Blair.
The ogres in the Balmoral Castle were in fact Prince Phillip (James Cromwell) and the Queen Mum (Sylvia Syms) abetted by the very proper Robin Janvrin (Roger Allam) and the wishy washy Prince Charles (Alex Jennings).The entire production is beautifully filmed with the use of clips from Princess Di's life (and death) instead of creating an actress role to portray her - a very wise choice.
Helen Mirren brought to life a Queen Elizabeth II that I would have never expected, and the outstanding performances of Michael Sheen as Blair and James Cromwell as Prince Philip (and the entire supporting cast) only made everything that much better.
In this film, we get a glimpse of what life was like inside Buckingham Palace, and whether The Queen (played here by Helen Mirren) was being cold and uncaring, or, if she was the one who was suffering most of all.Director Stephen Frears recreates one week in 1997 with intelligent, deft strokes.
The Queen chose not to make a parade of her feelings in response to Diana's death, and, though the nation hated her for it, we learn here that it is not because she did not care, but because she honestly thought it the right thing to do.As a young and newly elected Tony Blair with big aspirations and an even bigger grin, Michael Sheen is freakishly good as the Prime Minister.
His performance shows a likable side of the prime minister in his refusal to side with the public over the denouncement of The Queen for her actions, and his attempts to make The Queen limit the damage that she has made is the basis for a very insightful story.Other delights in this film come in some high-brow one-liners and some other good performances, but the best thing about it is how it manages to make you think, and even empathise with a group of people that you never saw yourself giving a toss about.
Stephen Frears' The Queen, written by Peter Morgan (co-author of The Last King of Scotland) and starring Helen Mirren, is a glittering, compelling, solemnly anxious news comedy about the week in late summer, 1997, when Tony Blair, fresh in office as new-Liberal Prime Minister, "saved" the British royal family, or saved it from itself, when Lady Di died in Paris.
But also as Peter French has said about this film, the royal family "are shown to be morally and socially blinkered." Tony Blair reluctantly taught the Queen to see their absence of public response to the death, her insistence at first that it was a "private, family matte," was a disastrous policy that had to be reversed.Diana had skillfully manipulated the media to form an image of herself combining Demi Moore and Mother Teresa.
But a monarch isn't tutored in such strategies.No flag flew at half mast over Buckingham Palace, because that flagpole was used only for the royal flag, to show if anyone was home, and they were all at Balmoral, being private in their grief, avoiding publicity, and protecting the boys.The Queen as seen here and imagined with enthusiasm by Morgan is not as witty as Alan Bennett's Queen, in her last on screen recreation, in A Question of Attribution (directed by John Schlesinger, 1992), nor does the estimable Ms. Mirren (who's nonetheless very fine) have the buoyancy of Prunella Scales in Schlesinger's film.
The formal grandeur of the film inherent in its subject matter  the Prime Minister and the royal family  is offset by its ironies and by the intimacy of the tennis match that develops in communications back and forth by telephone.This movie is ultimately kind to Blair and to the Queen.
Certainly not, anymore than we should condemn James Goldman for being fanciful as to what may or may not have occurred in the Court of Henry 11 and Eleanor of Aquitaine."The Queen", then, is not some purposeful account of the facts surrounding the death of Princess Diana as seen from the Royal, (and Prime Ministerial), perspective as a wonderfully human comedy hewn from a national and a private tragedy.
This is great acting which I have no doubt will be rewarded with every prize going come the year's end, (and anyone unfamiliar with Mirren's work who thinks, perhaps, that this is largely just a brilliant piece of mimicry should seek out her very different but equally brilliant performance on television as the present Queen's namesake Elizabeth 1).The biggest glittering prize most likely to come Mirren's way is, of course, the Oscar and amid the ballyhoo surrounding her performance, Michael Sheen's brilliant turn as Tony Blair has been mostly overlooked.
Stephen Frears' competent, well written, expertly cast and intimate look into the Royal Family and British government in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death is a straightforward, no-nonsense stunner.Operating both as a comedy of manners where the newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (an excellent Michael Sheen) must save the Royal Family from themselves before the Monarchy is tossed aside completely by an angry, guilt-ridden public desperately wanting a statement, a word of comfort, or at very least the presence in London of their Queen Elizabeth II (played masterfully by Helen Mirren, who is as cold and stubborn here as she was conflicted and passionate as Elizabeth I in the HBO miniseries of the same name earlier this year), and also as a surprisingly touching testament to the British people's love affair with Princess Diana and more importantly the Monarchy, "The Queen" succeeds splendidly on multiple levels.Frears combines archival footage of a grieving public and newscasts with intertwining splices of historical recreations and fictionalized riffs on what it must've been like inside the Royal Chambers.
The rest of the Royals serve as a sideshow, with Prince Charles wimpy and ineffective in the presence of his mother, Prince Phillip (James Cromwell) a rowdy lout, and the Queen Mother (Sylvia Sims) providing equal parts comic relief and aristocratic wisdom to her daughter.In the end, "The Queen" is a film that sneaks up on you, funnier and more touching than you imagined, and anchored by a classic turn from a consummate British actress as a Queen who desires to understand her people and do them proud while honoring the traditions of her lineage..
Every performance is spot on and helps do justice to the brilliantly written script by Peter Morgan who somehow has drawn to light the different sides involved in that week of tragedy and media spin without being too intrusive in terms of the grief of Princes William and Harry, while Stephen Frears never turns the stock footage of Diana into something overly ghoulish or unseemly.Ultimately though, this story is not really about Diana at all, her death merely serving as the catalyst for a deep and painful self-reflection for The Queen on her monarchy and personal aversion to Diana and the circus slowly gathering outside Buckingham palace.
Given, however, the incestuous interdependence of the media world, where press barons own shares in television and film companies, film-makers are often reluctant to subject the Fourth Estate to too much scrutiny.This is, rather, an examination of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and her Prime Minister Tony Blair and of the roles played by them in the events following Diana's death.
His politician's instincts tell him that the Royal Family's attitude represents a public relations disaster in the making, and tries to persuade the Queen to return to London, to fly the flag and to grant Diana the official funeral for which the public are clamouring.Michael Sheen bears a close resemblance to the Tony Blair of nine years ago, and has clearly studied him closely in order to catch his every gesture and nuance.
No hard-line royalist, Mirren has said she thought twice before accepting her honours as a Dame of the British Empire in 2003, but her portrait here is convincingly astute, supporting a remarkable physical transformation with a sensitive characterisation that endears the Queen to us and renders her majesty's charisma all the more apparent.In an early scene where the Queen is chatting to her portrait artist, she mentions the coming election and expresses a longing to vote, just once, for "the sheer joy of being partial." The artist reminds her that it is, after all, her government, and Queen Elizabeth retorts, "Yes, I suppose that's some consolation." Obviously there's some things money can't buy.The film examines her character, her stoical dignity born of years of tolerance not of her choosing, and is maybe so gripping because previous portraits have been little more than a regal cipher.
Add to that the crisis of feelings within the Royal Family itself, the sense of isolation felt by the Queen, and the release of the film near the end of Blair's career, and you have a movie that presents a whirlwind of emotion that will thrill public tastes..
In 1997, after the death of Lady Di in a car accident in Paris, the reluctant Queen (Helen Mirren) and The Establishment do not accept to honor the "People's Princess" as a member of the Royal Family.
However, the public and the media question the utility of the monarchy and the just-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) advises the Queen to make a public speech mourning the loss of Diana."The Queen" is probably the best performance of Helen Mirren in the cinema.
The Queen, HM Elizabeth II(Helen Mirren) is an interesting portrayal of the British Royal Family during the turbulent 1997, when the death of Lady Di, the ¨People Princess¨ in Paris when unfortunately happened a car crash .
Then Prime Minister Tony Blair(Michael Sheen,his wife Cherie is well played by Helen McClory)seeing British people is questioning the monarchy advises the Queen to do a speech mourning the death of Diana of Wales.This excellent movie is perfectly performed by a magnificent plethora of actors playing real people in actual deeds.
Stephen Frears surely knows how to start and end a movie, skills that amazingly rare to judge from what's in the world.This film begins with a small vignette, having nothing at all to do with the story, but introducing the character Helen Mirren plays.
But when the actors are Princess Di the most famous woman in the world, Queen Elizabeth and her dysfunctional family, Tony Blair and his power crazy New Labour henchmen (a withering portrayal of press secretary, Alistair Campbell), we see society as we lived it a decade ago personified through them and it gives us a window on ourselves.To take one scene, the Queen returns to Buckingham Palace to find crowds of people and flowers (some with very unkind messages attached).
Helen Mirren turns out a fascinating performance as Queen Elizabeth II dealing with the death of Princess Diana.
The Queen tries very hard to do the "proper" thing, but it is in conflict with what might be the "best" thing for her people.All in all, an excellent film that anyone who likes British history or the royal family should watch..
The film specifically focuses on the Queen and Tony Blair but you also get some insights into Prince Charles (mostly very positive) and Prince Philip (mostly horrendous).I appreciated the acting of Helen Mirren and I wasn't at all surprised to see that she received the Oscar for her performance.
During the week following the death of the Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II and her family struggle to come to terms with their own reaction, that of the new Government and that of the British public.Frears and Morgan offer up a speculative view of the private dynamics between Royal Family members and between Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Queen.
Although Queen Elizabeth is still in the spotlight, Helen Mirren's strong portrayal made that role much easier to swallow.Fresh subjects are tough to hit upon anyway, and you have to give credit where it is due; Stephen Frears certainly deserves some acclaim for simply attempting to make a film about the Royal Family and their reaction (or non-reaction) to Princess Diana's accidental death.
Set in the months around the death of Princess Diana, the film focuses on the deep emotions that occurred within the royal family, and relationship between her royal majesty the Queen (Dame Helen Mirren) and the British Prime Minster, Tony Blair (Michael Sheen).Helen Mirren is forever a treasured gem in acting show-business and here, she is no acceptation.
The buck in "The Queen" died but Elizabeth, like Sir Walter Scott's famous "Stag at eve," certainly did not.The film examines how the new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and the queen work out the queen's initial refusal to publicly acknowledge Diana's death in any way.
A magnificent rendition of this brief but tumultuous period in British' history, Stephen Frears' "The Queen" chronicles the series of events that took place between the car crash and the public funeral in West Minster.But more than a political film, "The Queen" is constructed like an exhilarating psychological arm-wrestling between two antagonistic forces: the freshly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth II.
Meanwhile, the film avoids the opposite Manichaeism by showing a Tony Blair convinced that Britain needs monarchy, while on the Royal Family side, Queen Mum and Prince Edward (a grouchy James Cromwell) don't feel concerned by Diana's death.
Helen Mirren is "The Queen," a 2006 film that dramatizes what went on in the Royal House of Windsor after the death of Princess Diana, when Queen Elizabeth is deeply criticized for refusing to speak publicly about the event.
Michael Sheen was absolutely uncanny as Tony Blair, who walks a fine line dealing with Buckingham Palace and political forces; and James Cromwell as Phillip comes off as a bitter, angry Diana hater...probably not far from the truth.To understand Queen Elizabeth and her actions, the family's history is important.
Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II comes under fire from her people after her stoic dignity prevents her or any of the Royals from showing public grief after the passing of Princess Diana of Wales.
Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, and Michael Sheen as the young Prime Minister Tony Blair are impressive in their respective roles.
The film features Helen Mirren in the lead role as Queen Elizabeth II and captures the dilemma that engulfed the royal family after the heartbreaking demise of the most loved royalties of England, Princess Diana.
Chief among them is Helen Mirren, and the legendary actress got her chance to portray what is perhaps the role of a lifetime in 2006's 'The Queen.'The film looks behind the curtains of Buckingham and Balmoral to show the royal family's thought process and sparring with newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) in the hours and days following the tragic death of Princess Diana - "the People's Princess." This glimpse into a circle of people that is rarely possible is what many found to be the main draw in the best picture-nominated film, and while there is an all-star cast here (James Cromwell as Prince Philip, Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother and Alex Jennings as Prince Charles), Mirren's first-rate delivery of Elizabeth II's calculating, cold demeanor during this period in her life is really what everyone is here for - and the Academy agreed, handing Mirren a gold statue for best performance by an actress in a leading role.While it's true that Mirren steals every scene she's in, Sheen's portrayal of Blair is also to be respected.
"The Queen" deals with her death and offers a look into the royal's point of view of the events and Queen Elisabeth II personal conflict when she was caught between the relentless media and the desire to protect her family.The plot of the film is as follows:In the beginning the new elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) meets Queen Elisabeth II (Helen Mirren) in Buckingham Palace for the first time.