Saturday, 29 July 2017

The Queen

(Stephen Frears/2006/UK)

One would assume by the title that this is a biopic but the film concentrates on the period just before and following the death of Princess Diana. I am married to someone fascinated by all things royal family so have an offhand knowledge of this stuff as a result. It’s a crucial period of time as the response and change in attitude of the royal family to their relationship with both the British public and the media was to change them forever. The death of Diana was the turning point of it all. An interesting and engaging film, it’s not afraid to be funny at times with superb performances from Helen Mirren as The Queen and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. It captures the mood of the time of what was a major, traumatic and very public passing of someone beloved across the globe without being maudlin. Frears direction is on point and objective with only one, fictionalised scene allowing a toe dip into sentimentality but with a humanising motive that allows it to work and be believable. If you’re into the subject matter it’s definitely worth the watch, if not the calibre of people involved shouldn’t be dismissed.

(3/5)

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