The Queen Rises to the Top

The Queen, the stately film from director Stephen Frears, chronicles the events following the tragic death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. Helen Mirren, delivering yet another Oscar-worthy performance, stars as Queen Elizabeth, who must grapple with her own mixed emotions following the death of her former daughter-in-law. The film explores the dilemma Queen Elizabeth faced, whether to respect her own wishes and those of her immediate family’s for a private funeral for Princess Diana or to succumb to pressures from the British public and the rest of the world for the royal family to hold a public funeral.

The week following Diana’s death, Queen Elizabeth is surrounded by family members who share her wishes for a more private affair. Her husband, King Philip, portrayed to elitist perfection by James Cromwell, offers her his steadfast support, as does her mother, Queen Mother. At several turns the film reminds us that Queen Elizabeth received early criticism about her response to the tragedy from the newly appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film implies that, at least on the issue related to Diana’s death, Blair correctly gauges the mood of the country and struggles in vein to convey this to the Queen, whom he hopes will acknowledge her own grief and join the rest of Britain and the world in a public mourning of Diana.

As Tony Blair, Michael Sheen exudes the idealism, passion, and exuberance that make him look more like the outgoing Prime Minister Blair more than he actually does. Blair must balance his respect for the royal family with his understanding of the public’s deep sense of loss and delicately persuade Queen Elizabeth to act against her and most of her family’s instincts. Like Mirren, Sheen is likely to receive an Oscar nomination for his work here.

The film intersperses footage of Diana from the days leading up to the accident and images of thousands paying tributes and saying tearful good-byes to Diana with scenes that recreate the moments of tension and discomfort the royal family experienced. In a chilling scene, the film replays footage of Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, reading a statement blasting photographers for pursuing Diana so vigorously. His words and anguish evoke thoughts about Western culture's obsession with celebrity gossip and the excessive pursuit of the media to feed our warped desires for information about the private lives of the rich and famous. The film, perhaps more honestly than British royalty and government officials would like, depicts the Queen as a towering, protective mother in-law certain of her love and support of her son, Prince Charles but not completely enamored with Princess Diana, who earlier divorced him. Such a depiction should make word of mouth about this film from British royalty and government officials all the more interesting.

Stephen Frears, who works effectively from Peter Morgan’s script, has assembled a competent collection of British actors to bring this surprisingly film-worthy occasion to the screen. The classy production, enhanced by Alexandre Desplat’s musical score and Affonso Beato’s unexpectedly eye-catching cinematography, is irrefutably among Frears’s most substantive work since his well-regarded film, Dangerous Liaisons.

The Queen not only reminds us of the pain the entire world endured in the wake of Diana’s death, but the film presents in full view the awesome reach of the media and its potentially devastating impact on all things in life---from the most public to the most private. The Queen compels us to salute the queen for her strength, integrity, and valor—all in the face of a worldwide media charged and conditioned to reveal all to the world by any means necessary.

Grade: A