994. The Queen

The Queen
2006
Directed by Stephen Frears

I miss England terribly and watching films like this just makes it harder.  I don't remember the aftermath of Diana's death, but I do recall some of the royalty related hysteria when I visited London just before Prince William and Kate Middleton's marriage.  Man, they love those royals.

After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles in the aftermath of a tragedy that no one could have predicted.  While the Queen believes that the royal family's grief should be a private affair handled away from the mourning public, Tony Blair and Prince Charles think that the nation deserves a more public expression of grief.

I expected to love this movie, but I didn't end up finding it as riveting as I initially hoped.  I felt as thought the filmmakers kept hinting at more interesting events taking place off screen, while the audience was stuck watching everyone try to dislodge the stick up the Queen's ass.  Ahem.  Clearly, I am not royalty material yet.

In any case, Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen did fantastic jobs and I still managed to find the politics of this one rather interesting.  Biopics just aren't for me.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Cherie Blair's dislike of the royal family has been widely reported.

Helen Mirren discovered while researching the role that the Queen has OCD.  It was her idea to use this element of her personality in the film.