Queen to Queen

Trust me, this is not going to turn into a place for movie reviews.  It’s just that I’ve been in an unusually view-friendly mood lately, but I don’t plan on making it a habit.  That being said, I played hooky from work yesterday and A-Mo and I went to the movies.  We were both pretty tempted to see The Messengers, but eventually returned to reality and knew it would be an absolute waste of both our time and our money.  Instead, you could say that we compromised.  That is if, by compromise, you mean that I gave him the name of the only movie that I’d be willing to see and he, so desperate to get his girl out to a show agreed without question.  That is how we found ourselves sitting in a near empty theatre, midway through a rainy Wednesday afternoon, our laps full of popcorn and watching The Queen.

As with any film (any thing, really) Aaron and I came away with very different responses.  He praised Helen Mirren for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II (obviously, he is not alone), I wasn’t fully satisfied by it.  I suppose, it may have just bothered me that she wasn’t The Queen.  I know, sounds silly, but I spent my entire childhood fantasizing about how she resembled my Nannie and that there may be some relation and Dame Mirren was neither.  Yes, goofy.

We agreed that the casting director was quite successful in this effort.  I particularly appreciated those who played the roles of the most annoying woman in the world, Cherie Blair and The Queen Mum.  All of the actors were effective and that was really nice to see for a change.

Did I like the movie?  Well, that’s hard to say.  I am a big fan of The Monarchy.  I don’t go for the Royal gossip so much, but the history intrigues me and I hate discussion about destroying that.   Before I went, I hadn’t realized how much of the film focused on the death of the Princess of Wales.  I was/am not a fan, but it’s probably best I didn’t know that, otherwise I’d likely never have gone.  It was enjoyable to watch, but as I told Aaron afterwards, it made me a little sad to think that with 50+ years of service to choose from, all that this movie shows are the seven biggest days in the context of Diana.  It’s a shame as there is so much more to The Queen and the Royal Family and that’s what I’d expected I was getting myself into.  As it turns out, on the topic of Diana, I think The Queen and I have a lot in common.

What struck me most about this movie was how it effected my feelings about Tony Blair.  It was shocking, really and this was another thing that Aaron and I agreed on.  I’ve never held a high opinion of the man, but if the events really played out the way the movie leads us to believe, then he’s definitely not all bad, as I’d suspected.  I was touched by the way he really reached out to Elizabeth when he’d had the opportunity to destroy her and all she stood for.

It was fairly emotional for me to sit through, but I was shocked at the events that choked me up the most, namely the licking PM Blair gives to his speech writer once he feels he’s taken things a little too far and more than anything else, the scene in which the Queen Mum realizes that Diana’s hijacked her own funeral plans.  The latter found me shedding a few tears.

The film really was well done.  It presented an interesting and in-depth view of the Royals in the week following the death of Diana Spencer.  It was all very well presented and the dialogue was sharp and witty.  I wouldn’t be disappointed to see it win Best Picture.

I found this Official Site of the British Monarchy while Googling Queen Elizabeth II.  I found it pretty interesting.  Thought you might too.