Editor’s note: In this series, RedFence Sr. Writer and Filmmaker James Roland takes a tour of this year’s five Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture. His reactions will be posted on Mondays and Wednesdays leading up to the awards ceremony, Feb. 25.
Best Pictures Part One: The Queen
by James Roland
I really shouldn’t like The Queen. It has a slow, step-by-step pace and depends far too much on character driven drama for anyone in my demographic. Not only that, it attacks me and my peers – the YouTubers and MySpacers of the world, the youngsters who base their political and philosophical beliefs on emotion, ease, and whatever our Google homepage tells us.
But The Queen is a fine, mature film that tells the inside story of the week preceding Princess Diana’s funeral. It manages to look inside the British Royal Family and see what it really is: a family. Likewise, each member is treated as a person and they are performed as such, with dignity and depth.
The film opens with a vivid, living portrait of Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. The final frame lingers for an uncomfortable amount of time, and just before it ends the queen turns to the camera and looks directly at the audience. Mirren’s presence as Queen Elizabeth is extraordinary; her gaze pierces through the screen in a resolved, slightly accusatory stare.
Helen Mirren’s performance as the queen deserves every bit of accolade it has received. The movie rests on her shoulders and she carries it with grace and confidence; Queen Elizabeth is a power to behold, not because of her might but because of her person. Her wisdom and life and convictions were gained through some of Britain’s most tumultuous history and, like every person of that generation, she depends on logic and strength rather than emotion. When the British public cries out for the Royal Family to break tradition in order to publicly mourn the death of Princess Diana, the queen is torn between standing for her rights as a grandmother and queen and sacrificing religious-like convictions for the sake of the country.
Caught in the middle is Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), the new Prime Minister and modern voice of the younger generation. Sheen plays his character with an unstoppable grin; even when in the presence of royalty, Sheen’s grin pops through at the corners of his mouth and quickly spreads around his face. He is an idealist, a dreamer, and is instantly torn between a sudden and growing respect for the queen and a fervent belief that her actions are harming the country.
Thrown into this mix is Prince Charles (Alex Jennings). He is both cowardly and sincere, protecting his children in the wake of Princess Diana’s death while secretly dreading an assassination attempt from one of the many disgruntled British citizens. Jennings plays Charles as weak and manipulative, but manages to also show his real resolve for his immediate family and his sincere love for Diana. His performance is one of the best in the film.
Despite the politics, The Queen is a personal drama. It deeply and realistically portrays the truth and character of each member of the royal family (including Princess Diana, who only appears through news footage), Tony Blair and his family, and the masses of mourning citizens.
Each group has a personal stake in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death; it was the catalyst for a quiet, internal revolution.
At the end of the film, the queen warns Blair about the sudden betrayal of the masses (a slight wink at Blair’s current popularity drop). She walks through the safety of her garden, tucked in a compound far away from the public’s reach. But unlike Marie Antoinette, who ignored a violent, surging mob, the film portrays the queen standing firm against a new, young mob that was rebelling in the way that our generation does it best: by pouting.
