We watched 'The Queen' over the weekend. As expected, Helen Mirren was excellent. I don't have a lot of sympathy for The Queen, though, in real life, even after this movie (which tried to humanize her slightly). Don't tell my friend Lynn (who is a complete Anglo-phile and loves The Royals, all of them), but I've never understood the point of a monarch in this age. Seems to me that Tony Blair (or whoever the Prime Minister happens to be) is the real leader of Britain.
But anyhow, 'The Queen,' as you may know, is the supposed story of Queen Elizabeth II's reaction to the death of Princess Diana. The factual part is all of the televised speeches and appearances. The fictional bit is the behind-the-scenes part, which truly, only The Queen and those with her would know. I'm not one to follow this sort of thing, The Royals, but, having been close friends with Lynn all these years, I know more than the average person knows about The Royals.
I'm severely biased, though, as I suspect most Americans are: We were taught to love Princess Diana (thanks, press; irony!) and to have much disdain for Charles and indeed, in light of the non-reaction to Diana's death, The Queen herself. The film does manage to point out that Diana didn't exactly gel with The Windsors, and The Queen's reaction was natural, considering how she was raised to behave (very stoic and 'proper'), and with the fact that Diana was no longer a Royal, if you split hairs.
But even a blind, deaf person living in a cave knows that Diana was LOVED. Tremendously. I'd count her as the only Royal worth five pence, truth be told. So I was surprised at the ignorance exhibited by The Monarchy. Of course she needed a huge, public, royal funeral. She was DIANA! She was an icon, for us colonials, anyway. And I'd think Britain felt similar.
In the end, I don't feel much more sympathetic towards The Queen, but at least I can see what some of the motivations might have been. I recommend the movie, for the history and the performances. I wouldn't expect to come out loving The Royals, though; Prince Phillip in particular, comes across as a Jackass. The Queen herself seems like she belongs in another age; one long past.
Grade: A
In other news, Tori Amos' new CD comes out tomorrow. :)
Tell me this does not look like Helen Mirren!
More on Tori later..you know.
Have a great day!
3 comments:
It was interesting to watch Helen Mirren go from one Elizabeth to another! Personally, I love her as Queen Elizabeth I more on the HBO miniseries. :) Hope you are enjoying the new Tori cd today!
I'd like to see the other film as well. Mirren is awesome!
I'm sure I'll be enjoying the CD later today. ;)
Holy Cucaracha! Tori looks the business there...!
The Queen - the film does indeed try to portray the angst and feelings after Di's death, but I think the reality of the situation was probably that the whole royal family (aside from her boys, obviously) were probably glad to see the back of her. Though it has made no difference to the amount of press coverage she gets still, and of course the various conspiracy theories about how she really died. Gotta love (hate) the British gutter press.
Peej
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