Mrs Brown

Plot synopsis:
Several screens of text giving some background are shown before a bust is shown flying over a palace wall and shattering into countless pieces. The film shows the story of a bereaved Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and her relationship with a Scottish servant, John Brown (Billy Connolly), and the subsequent uproar it provoked. Brown had been a trusted servant of Victoria's then deceased and beloved Prince Consort, Prince Albert; Victoria's Household thought Brown might help to ease an inconsolable Queen since the Prince Consort's death in 1861. In 1863, hoping to subtly coax the Queen toward resuming public life after years of seclusion, Mr Brown is summoned to court.
The plan succeeds a little too well for the servants' liking, especially Victoria's chief secretary Sir Henry Ponsonby (Geoffrey Palmer) and The Prince of Wales (David Westhead) as well as other members of the Royal family; the public, press and politicians soon come to resent Brown's perceived influence over the queen. Brown takes considerable liberties with court protocol, especially by addressing Her Majesty as "woman". He also quickly takes control over the Queen's daily activities, further aggravating the tensions between himself and the royal family and servants.
The moniker "Mrs Brown", used both at the time and in the film, implied an improper, and perhaps sexual, relationship. The film does not directly address the contemporary suspicions that the Queen and Brown had had a sexual relationship and perhaps had even secretly married (see the article on Brown), though cartoons from the satirical magazine Punch are shown as being passed around in Parliament (only one of the cartoons is revealed to the camera, showing an empty throne, with the sceptre lying unhanded across it).
As a result of Victoria's virtual recluse, especially at Balmoral Castle in Scotland (something initially encouraged by Brown), her popularity begins failing and republican sentiment begins growing. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Antony Sher) has a weakening hold over the House of Commons and a fear of rising anti-monarchical sentiment in the country. He persuades Brown to use his influence with the Queen to persuade her to return to the performance of her public duties, especially the speech from the throne at the impending opening of Parliament.
Brown is reluctant to do so, rightly fearing that Victoria will take this as a personal betrayal. When Brown urges Victoria to return to London and fulfill her public duties, an argument ensues. Feeling betrayed by Brown, the Queen becomes enraged. When Brown once again refers to her as "woman", she sharply rebukes him. Leaving the room, she turns to Ponsonby and Jenner requesting that they serve her needs, clearly reducing Mr Brown's contact and influence over her. Their relationship was never to be the same again.
The Queen's eventual acquiescence and her decision to return to public life eventually leads to a revitalisation of her popularity and a resurgence in public support of the monarchy.
Brown continues to serve Queen Victoria until his death in 1883. In his final years, his duties become reduced to head of security. The palace staff has become weary of Brown's dogmatic ways and they mock and rebuke his security efforts as paranoid delusions. Finally, during a public event, a gun-wielding assassin appears out of the crowd leaping toward the royal family. An ever-vigilant Brown successfully thwarts the assassination attempt. At dinner the next evening, the Prince of Wales retells the story, bragging to their dinner companions that he had been the one to warn Brown of the assassin. Seeing through her son's bragging, the Queen announces instead that a special medal for bravery, the "Devoted Service Medal," will be minted and awarded to Brown.
Some years later, Brown becomes gravely ill with pneumonia after chasing through the woods late at night searching for a possible intruder. Hearing of Brown's illness, the Queen visits his room and is visibly shaken to see her old friend so ill. Placing a cool damp cloth against Brown's fevered brow, she confesses that she has not been as good a friend as she might have been in recent years. It is clear that her apology is accepted by Brown. The pneumonia proves fatal for Brown and he passes away.
During his years of service, Brown had kept a diary and, upon his passing, Ponsonby and Dr. Jenner discuss its contents stating that it must never be seen by anyone. Holding the diary at his side, Ponsonby walks away and it's implied that the diary will be destroyed or will disappear.
Dr. Jenner also reveals that the Prince of Wales has hurled the Queen's favourite bust of Brown up and over the palace wall, referencing the film's opening sequence.
The film's closing crawl notes that "John Brown's diary was never found."

Tags: romantic, intrigue

Review:
No question, we all seem to agree that Dench deserved the Oscar (ok, Hunt was cute in AGAIG but a long way from 'Best'), Connolly is surprisingly good in this very dramatic role (I'm not exactly a huge fan of his comedic work), and Sher was very clever as Disraeli.
But this movie is just a little bit more that just great acting, it is also a moving story of the burdens of office, the mores of Victorian society, the anguish of the death of a loved one, and the blessing of true friendship.
BROWN as written by Jeremy Brock and directed by John Madden (Proof, Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli's Mandolin) is a sprightly, entertaining and engrossing study of a moment in the life of enigmatic Queen Victoria.
Selecting an outstanding production crew and a fine cast this film succeeds on every level and once again proves to us that Judi Dench is one of the finest actresses on the stage or screen today.The story revolves around the time when Queen Victoria's beloved husband Prince Albert dies resulting in a clinical depression in the queen.
There her Scottish Highlander servant John Brown (Billy Connolly) nurses her back to normalcy but in the meanwhile sets up the appearance of an affair that scandalized the British Isles.
Disraeli (Antony Sher) visits in an attempt to right the situation but it is Brown's strong personality - an equal match for the wise and wily Victoria - that alters the course of events that returns Queen Victoria to her proper station.Dench and Connolly play so well off each other that their relationship has a wealth of charm, tenderness, bite, wit, and solidity.
Mrs Brown is an enthralling piece of work wonderfully crafted by Judy Dench and Billy Connolly.
The story is about queen Victoria and the relationship with Mr Brown after the death of her husband.
Undoubtedly this film appeals to so very many because of the fine acting, the tenderness of a story about how a man comforts a great human being in her grief, the wit, and the careful re-creation of a period of history.
Mrs Brown is a good movie with a good storyline ,excellent performances by Bill Conolly ,Judi Dench and Antony Sher.
Antony Sher(Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli)adds some humor to the the movie .It was a delight visiting the beautiful Scottish Highlands thanks to some marvelous photography and a very good recreation of the Victorian age.
The real show stealer I felt was Bill Conolly(John Brown).He is portrayed as a loyal,charismatic,fun loving Scottish highlander who can dare to defy the Queen's orders .The scenes involving Victoria and Brown are electrifying.It surprises me that a talented actor like Bill Connoly Does not get many good roles.I would definitely love to see more of this talented actor..
"Mrs. Brown" tells the story of the grieving widow Queen Victoria (Dench) and her relationship with a common Scottish horse groomsman (Connolly) whose audacity and devotion won him a position as the queen's closest consort and her everlasting affection.
A wonderfully executed period piece (circa 1860's), "Mrs. Brown" leans toward fact and avoids sensationalism as it tenders its biographically correct drama about a grieving queen who finds an unspoken love and renewed commitment to life in a most unlikely man.
Still, Mrs.Brown is a great film in all aspects, not just something for Dench-fans.
Film Portrays the Private Life of Queen Victoria and Mr. Brown.
Superb and thoroughly convincing portrayals by all, but especially Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and Billy Connolly as John Brown.
That he can never be anything else but her servant is understood but his heart takes much longer to learn.Besides this powerful premise Mrs. Brown works because John Madden's direction and the editing keep things moving, with many beautiful images shown along the way.
True, this is an epic, sweeping, costume drama, but it's one that stays so true in its wish to portray history and reality correctly, that the grand love scenes are ruled out by its no-compromise attitude.Beyond that (it's by no means a criticism), Mrs. Brown is a touching, very entertaining, extremely well acted drama.
Despite its focus on realism, it comes off as an extremely emotional (much thanks to Billy Connolly's performance) story about personal and political conflicts.Finally, I believe the political angle of the film will confuse some people who won't understand the issues at stake (this is how my girlfriend reacted -- she couldn't follow much of the narrative in the last hour or so); but those who do will be thrilled..
The film is beautifully shot, capturing the bleakness that would have been Queen Victoria's life at that time.
This simple tale is used to paint a picture of the Victorian court so perfectly that you're left with a conviction that this is exactly how it must have been.Certainly the plot restrains itself to the facts:  Queen Victoria and her gillie John Brown were friends with a great affection for each other.
Billy Connolly gives his best acting performance to date, but Judi Dench is breathtaking.
Queen Victoria is suffering from terrible grief after the loss of her husband and the film is about her loyal friendship with Mr Brown.
With that kind of mentality operating, a whole lot of people questioned the need even for a monarchy.Into her life comes John Brown, brother one of the household help already at Balmoral and hired to tend the Queen's horses.
Connolly makes a fine Brown though if the film had been made 25 years earlier, the part was made for Sean Connery.Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown gained to Oscar nominations for Judi Dench for Best Actress and for Best Makeup.
Shooting on location in the royal palaces and grounds which are nicely preserved from Victoria's time, the film does have the look and feel of Victorian Great Britain and the troubled monarch who reigned over the Empire.Were she and Brown ever physical?
There may have been a bit of poetic license taken with the story of Queen Victoria and her Scottish groom, but this is an absolutely wonderful film!
Dench as Victoria and Connolly as Brown are absolutely superb, and the rest of the cast is just as good.
When the story begins England is growing very tired of their Queen's prolonged grieving over her now long-dead husband Prince Albert -- she has virtually eliminated her ceremonial appearances and cut herself off from the public literally for years.
And the acting is outstanding, Judi Dench is absolutely mesmerising as Queen Victoria and Billy Connolly was a huge surprise as John Brown, giving a restrained and very moving performance, proving he can do serious roles while being thoroughly decent at comedy as well.
Dame Judi Dench is "Mrs. Brown" - that is, Queen Victoria, and Billy Connolly is John Brown in this 1997 film, based on fact, of Queen Victoria's relationship with a Scottsman, John Brown, who becomes her servant.
The excellent script is by Jeremy Brock and the director is John Maddon, who does a wonderful job.The widowed, deeply grieving Queen Victoria has basically retired from public life when John Brown, who served her late husband, appears on the scene to help draw her out.
Billy Connolly, usually known for his comedy, does a remarkable job playing the strong headed and hearted John Brown- who was with Victoria for 30 years.
In Mrs. Brown his gift for comedy comes across as strong as ever but is complemented by the great dramatic acting, which is more than can be said about many a recent comics-turned-movie actors.
Starring Dame Judi Dench and a fine dramatic turn by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, the story is about the tremendous grief of Queen Victoria, whose husband's death has left her so devastated that she has retreated from public life, leaving the monarchy in a frozen state of affairs.
Judi Dench's acting has never been finer, and Billy Connolly seems born to the role of the stout-hearted Brown.
In mourning after the loss of her husband Prince Albert, Queen Victoria calls for his former aide, John Brown to be on hand for her walks and such.
At the same time, the political absence of the Queen is felt within the Commons and pressure starts to build not only on her to return to public duty but also in relation to her unusual relationship with Brown.Nobody should let their lack of knowledge of the characters and the period put them off coming to this fine period drama; I myself knew nothing of them but I do try and spot a quality film when I see one  and so it was here.
But I wouldn't deem it as a bad movie at all, it was actually made very well with some fantastic and very distinguished actors of our time.Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's marriage was one of the happiest in royal history, so when Albert passed away, Vicotiria is devastated.
But when a Scottish horse servant, John Brown, comes to help her, they become best friends and eventually lead into something more scandalous leading England her majesty's court to question her abilities as their queen.Mrs Brown is very well made and has a very strong cast that keep the movie together.
The intrigue and scandal surrounding Queen Victoria (Dame Judi Dench) and her devoted Scottish servant (played by stand-up comedian Billy Connolly) rivals any of today's tabloid headlines.
We know Judi Dench can play this sort of role better than almost anyone alive, but Billy Connolly is a revelation as the unstintingly loyal Brown.
The nature of Queen Victoria's relationship with her Scottish servant John Brown certainly isn't of earth-shaking historical significance, however it does make for an interesting enough story, some good speculation (both in their day and in ours) and a reminder that royal scandal didn't begin with the current crop of British royalty.After the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert, Victoria became very attached to Brown, who in turn became very protective of her.
The movie does portray in a very convincing manner the complications of such a friendship: the jealousy felt toward Brown by both his fellow servants (to whom he becomes quite haughty at times, rubbing their noses in his special status) and by other members of the royal family, who feared the potential for scandal and also resented the fact that Brown was closer to Victoria in many ways than they were.The movie is a good period piece.
The movie also features great performances from Judi Dench as Victoria and Billy Connolly as Brown.
Also not to be overlooked is a fine performance from Antony Sher as Disraeli - the Prime Minister whose own position as head of government is being threatened by the Queen's increasing unpopularity when she secludes herself for years after Albert's death, and who eventually has to seek Brown's help (because Brown seems to be the only one with influence over her) to get Victoria to reclaim her public role as sovereign.
Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria a year before winning her Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth, and Billy Connolly plays the man who helps her recover from the depression she falls into after the death of her husband.This is a tasteful, quiet period piece that has not much to recommend it cinematically but does give one the opportunity to see some terrific performances.
The film is best in focusing on the relationship of the Queen and John Brown, and Dench and Connolly pull their roles off well.
The great loves of Queen Victoria, this one Mr Brown..
Then along came the Scotsman to care for her horse, Billy Connolly as John Brown, a take charge kind of guy who gave scant respect to the conventions of conduct around the Queen.
Judi Dench and Billy Connolly are great in this movie.
It's about the extraordinary man with the ordinary name of John Brown who brought a Queen out of mourning, and how their relationship leads to scandal in Britain.I found watching Young Victoria before Mrs. Brown to be useful and insightful into the eyes of Queen Victoria and her love for Albert.
HMMB is a British period film from John Madden (whose Shakespeare IN LOVE 1998 would upset the Oscar ceremony in 1999 and honor Ms. Dench's a golden naked man for best supporting actress), wrestling with a solemn relationship/friendship between Queen Victoria and her staunch servant John Brown, a royal entanglement which almost hamper the monarchy in UK history.It is perplexing to tell the narrative's dependability because Brown's diary has never been found, thus the film uses a mediocre approach to meticulously organize its contentious subject matter in a tenable and restrained patterns, the interaction between Queen Victoria and Mr. Brown is not as ample as one had anticipated, a bona-fide friendship never really sensed throughout the entire round, also the screen time of Dame Dench is curbed into sundry fragmentary montages, the sparkle of a two-hander abates slowly and the final showdown has been sketched into a intensive but abrupt manifestation.
It's a good thing that it did though because this film deserves a chance to be seen.The film tells the story of the unrefined scots ghillie who befriended (and, some believe, bedded) Queen Victoria, following the death of her husband.
Billy Connolly plays ghillie John Brown in a performance that is, like the film, subtle and full of understated emotion.
Judi Dench, as Victoria, is no less impressive.The script is witty and relevant, with some not-too-subtle references to the public invasion of the private lives of celebrities (a hot issue at the time following the death of Princess Diana).Definitely worth a look..
When "Mrs. Brown" came out, it seems like Judi Dench wasn't a household name in the United States - although she had appeared in a number of famous movies by then.
Here she plays Queen Victoria, having a fling with Scotsman John Brown (Billy Connolly).
Densch and Connilly earned our love.I am convinced the story was close to the truth and love does not always need sex, to be love.John Brown saved Victoria's life, by breaking through the protocol, and guiding her back to life.We have often seen like situations between a Royal and a common servant, where the common sense wins over divine responsibilities in Royality."Roman Holiday" comes to mind.
Protecting himself from life, germs, and villains imagined in his own mind, Hughes, is a prisoner of his own design.Mrs. Brown gives up a rare view of Queen Victoria, crippled by her fears of her beloved husband's death.
John Brown, a servant highly respected by the late Prince Albert, is brought in from Scotland to attend to the Queen.
Through it all, Mr. Brown demonstrates an unmatched allegiance to the Queen.This movie was incorrectly billed as a love story, but it is actually a story about the power of friendship and how two people from polar opposite social classes (a servant and a monarch) end up becoming friends.
Billy Connolly cleverly portrays the saucy and arrogant Mr. Brown, while the Queen is played with precision by the very talented Judy Dench.
Billy Connolly and Dame Judi Dench were magnificent in their roles.
This movie should've carried more Oscars and nominations than it had.The movie itself is about Scotsman John Brown (Connolly) who befriends Queen Victoria (Dench) who has been in mourning for her husband and consort, Prince Albert, since his death of typhoid in 1861.
Some contributors have written as if Victoria was already some ageing figure but she was born in 1819 and so was only in her early 40's at the time that John Brown came into her life.She still would have been very much pre change of life so there was always the real possibility or potential of emotions going beyond friendship and mutual respect.
This film is about the relationship between Queen Victoria and her personal servant John Brown.
The people who actually made the film did a good job of sticking to facts and were probably horrified by the way the film was advertised.The film begins a couple years after the death of Prince Albert--Victoria's husband.
[WARNING:  This review may contain "spoilers."]This film is contrived from the historical friendship of Regina Victoria with her servant John Brown.
Judi Dench is magnificent as Queen Victoria, an awesome personality with a heartbreaking soul - and this performance earned her an Oscar nomination.
A matchless portrayal of Queen Victoria by Judi Dench, and an equally marvellous performance by Billy Connolly.
Brown's diary was naturally deliberately destroyed.Seven time Oscar nominee Judi was finally given one for her role as the Queen in Shakespeare in Love, a very fine film.
For the next 20 years, John Brown takes charge of the queen's life and the royal household.
He has been viewed by some historians as having helped bring and end to the Russian monarchy.Judi Dench does justice to the character of Victoria, and Billy Connolly is excellent in the role of John Brown.
Mrs Brown is directed by John Madden, is written by Jeremy Brock, has music by Stephen Warbeck and stars Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer and Anthony Sher.Queen Victoria(Judi Dench)is living in seclusion at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight for several years after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert.It is while she is there that she meets a royal servant John Brown(Billy Connolly)who is put in charge of her horse.
I'm not sure if what happens in this story is true, the longest running queen to date having some kind of close relationship with her servant and best friend, from John Madden (Shakespeare in Love).
Queen Victoria (BAFTA, Scotland BAFTA and Golden Globe winning, and Oscar nominated Dame Judi Dench) has recently lost her husband and she is quite quiet about it.
John Brown (BAFTA and Scotland BAFTA nominated Billy Connolly) is the Scottish servant that helps her.