It's been sooo long and I have seen many a movie that I should have written about, but I have been so busy with homework and writing for the newspaper. I will soon be writing for a new web venture entitled Big Lick U. I'll tell you more about that later..
for now I will tell you all about The Queen.
The Queen which stars Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II and James Cromwell (whom we all remember as teh farmer from Babe when we were little) as Prince Philip, her husband. The plot takes off as Tony Blair is running for Prime Minister and at the start of his new position as the Prime Minister to England. We follow him on his first trip to officially be named Prime Minister by the Queen and his immediate success with his government over the people. Queen Elizabeth is seen as guarded and not too friendly to the public and even to Tony Blair, but we see her vulnerable side when she's alone with her mother and her husband and even some of her closer staff. They make remarks about Princess Diana and her racy and too public life-style.
It then falls into the dreadful August night where the paparazzi drive Princess Di and Dodi Fayed to their tragic deaths in a Paris tunnel. The Queen is notified in the late night that Di is in the hospital and Fayed has already died. She does not seem to care as much since she is no longer a member of the royal family. The events follow as her summer vacation at Balmoral continues with the family and their hunt for stags.
Tony Blair, who's smile remains big throughout the movie, urges the Queen to come back to London to be with her grieving people or make a statement about the Princess, but she refuses. It took her a week to finally say something and return to London and attend the funeral which became public much to her dislike.
The film is well written and funny at times in this drama that strikes close to home and makes you remember where you were while all of this was happening. I still remember where I was when I found out the tragic news, so to see all of this being played out in what the film makers believe what happened in that tragic week, hit a little close to my childhood memories.
James Cromwell does a good job with Prince Philip, trying to be the voice of reason and support to his wife and the grandfather to two grandsons who are mourning their mother's death in the best way he knows how, hunting stags.
Helen Mirren needs an Oscar nomination for sure. She played the queen with poise and the right amount of pursed lips. She was the best job any actress could have done in that part and you feel like you are becoming friends with her in a weird sort of way. She pulls you onto her side and gives it an interesting take on Princess Di we all think we knew.
The Queen has the right amount of politics combined with the right amount of personal "stuff" (I'm at loss for the right word.) I highly recommend this movie and you may not agree with some of the comments Queen Elizabeth makes about the situation, but it makes you realize that everyone is human, everyone has issues and not everyone is perfect. No matter how high you put that someone on a pedistel, they're just as human as you are. Demanding a lot of someone can make them hide or crack under pressure and it's not their fault that they don't act they way they want you to.
