Perhaps it's due to growing up on fairy tales or just because at one point or another their ancestors were ruled by kings, queens and the like, but most common folk have an unusual fascination with royalty. I'm not referring to the likes of Lisa Marie Presley or Paris Hilton (although they do get their share of tabloid mania), but rather real royal families, particularly the one deeply connected with Great Britain.
And such mania peaked back in 1981 when Charles, Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer in a storybook wedding that captivated much of the world. With each subsequent move -- the birth of their sons, the turbulent times, and finally their divorce -- everyday people became ever more engrossed by them.
However, it was her car accident death in a Parisian tunnel that really rocked the world back in 1997. Her funeral was viewed by an estimated two billion people worldwide and caused a massive outpouring of grief not seen since the likes of John Lennon's murder or Elvis' ungraceful demise. While tragic in any number of ways, it's sad that a similar reaction didn't occur with the passing of Mother Teresa (just six days later).
Of course, while the Indian nun's work had much greater impact and for a much longer period of time than Princess Di's, she wasn't a saucy little minx who previously stood up to the Queen of England by dumping her son and giving up all of the royal trappings for a return to a "commoner's" life.
That's the setup for "The Queen," director Stephen Frears' part historical, part fictional look at the immediate aftermath of Di's death and its effect on the people, the royal family, and a newly elected Prime Minister by the name of Tony Blair who finds himself stuck between the proverbial rock and royal hard place.
The rock, of course, is none other than Queen Elizabeth II, deliciously embodied by Helen Mirren. No stranger to playing royalty (she recently won an Emmy for her portrayal of Elizabeth I in the TV movie of the same name) and has previously starred in other such parts), the veteran actress gives what could be the defining performance of a terrific career. Unless some sort of spectacular work shows up in the next few months, she has a virtual lock on winning many best actress awards.
Of course, the real woman's personal life is closely guarded, so Mirren, Frears, and screenwriter Peter Morgan had to do some interpolation of the Queen and her view of this immense incident, especially within the context of her overall reign. Whether it's exact may never be known, but Mirren delivers a believable performance, both in mannerisms (the way she holds and moves her body) and mindset.
Michael Sheen is also quite good as Blair, playing the Prime Minister who's torn between initially gloating over the royals' missteps and later worrying about the effect of the public's reaction to that. By putting his country over his ego, he creates a likable and sympathetic character.
Alex Jennings isn't as successful embodying Prince Charles -- although the portrayal is amusing -- mainly because he really doesn't look anything like him and the performance occasionally feels as if it's bordering on caricature rather than accuracy. Those points are only further driven home by Frears' decision to use lots of archival footage of the real Princess Diana, rather than have someone portray her.
It does make her, her treatment by the royal family, and untimely death even more poignant (since it's the real thing rather than something recreated). Moreover, since she was in the public spotlight so much in real life and thus robbed of most any semblance of personal peace, the inclusion of said footage isn't as incongruous or jarring as it might otherwise seem.
Nevertheless, the film is really all about the give and take between the Queen and Blair as they try to figure out how to handle Britain's response to Di's death and funeral. The fact that he eventually comes to support the Queen -- going against the flood of disdain directed at her by an increasingly angry public, as well as his own staff and wife -- gives the film some nice depth and poignancy.
But much of that comes from Mirren and her telling portrayal of the living royal icon. Ranging from a pompous and properly stiff response to forging a stream in her SUV to finally meeting the grieving public, the performance is seemingly spot on as the actress creates an interesting and ultimately sympathetic movie version of the real thing. "The Queen" rates as a 7 out of 10.
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