Film Muser Rating : 4 / 5
Release Date : September 15, 2006
Running Time : 97 minutes

The Queen focuses on how Elizabeth II and the British royal family mishandled the death of Princess Diana in September of 1997. The story is set in the week following Diana’s death and follows how Prime Minister Tony Blair goes into damage control as the Queen continues to ignore the tragedy, even as the British public, and the rest of the world goes into mourning.

The Queen

Prior to watching this film, I knew to expect exceptional performances, primarily from Helen Mirren, but I was not sure whether I was going to enjoy the content since I am more-or-less indifferent to the British monarchy and everything related. I was surprised to find myself quite wrapped up in the story from the opening credits to the end. The film gives you a front row seat to the Queen’s reaction to Diana’s death and how she seemed to force herself to show little, or no remorse.

As an outside viewer looking on, you can’t help but think how absurd the whole situation was. The royal family continued to put their disdain for Diana ahead of recognizing the magnitude of what had happened, and how it was affecting the the citizens of Britain. The Queen even allows it to escalate to the point where a vast majority of Britain felt it was time to abolish the monarchy.

Michael Sheen plays a convincing Tony Blair as he tries to “suggest” ways for the Queen to get out of the predicament she continues to make worse. Blair is portrayed as the modern thinking Prime Minister who balks at the monarchy. But as the film progresses, Blair starts to empathize with the Queen. At one point he goes off on his staff who continuously take jabs at the Queen pointing out not to dismiss the life of service she gave to the people of Britain, based on this one incident. Even though he started off as a leader with numbers rivaling those of Winston Churchill, he probably understood how easily people’s opinions could pull a complete 180. Jump ahead ten years and we see exactly that, as the war in Iraq took a wrong turn.

Something I really liked about The Queen was how it showed Elizabeth II in her everyday life. Being a queen, I had always pictured her as being pampered 24 / 7. I was quite surprised to see her driving a four-wheel drive, and off-roading through a river on the family’s land. If that wasn’t enough, the jeep breaks down and she determines what’s wrong with it by checking under the chassis before calling for help.

I would highly suggest seeing The Queen, even if you think you don’t have an interest in the content. The story moves at a good pace, and never seems to drag on. The performances are top notch, and even though it is a dramatized account of the events, you’ll probably learn a few interesting facts.

Memorable Scene
One scene that I found quite enjoyable was where the Queen, Prince Phillip, and the Queen Mother are watching television coverage of the accident. The three of them are engaged in an in-depth conversation about a large moose that was spotted on their land that day. Meanwhile, on the TV we see world leaders such as Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela giving statements about the tragic loss of Diana and how her many contributions she made to the people of the world will never be forgotten.