The Queen (2006)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Lack of good storyline.

Good concept, poorly executed.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The QueenThe conversations are bang on accurate and so are the behaviour and the environment offered to the set which is rich and clean visually (for obvious reasons) that endorses its stunning production, costume and make-up design. The writing is witty as the stakes projected are bigger and not bigger at the same time, finding the perfect balance of necessity and priority where the makers doesn't spend their time on creating something colossal and instead goes deep and detailed within the boundaries allotted. Peter Morgan has done a terrific work on writing this justifying script that is supported decently by Stephen Frears whose brilliant execution skills helps it sail off easily along with the perfect editing. The feature scores majestically on performance where Helen Mirren is doing some of the best work of her career and is supported well by Michael Sheen. Having said that, the writing is a bit overcooked and unfortunately isn't as convoluted as the makers think. The feature has gripping screenplay, stellar performance and excellent execution on its side but lacks the connection with the audience somehow. The Queen reigns bold and uneasy if not almighty, and the primary reason would be the well thought-out structure of it that is unique and unfamiliar to the audience.

Am I missing something here? For all the awards this film won, and the amount of press it gained at the time of its release I sat down to watch it expecting something special.I was wrong. This film is slow, biased, and lacking in any sort of enjoyable qualities.There was so much fuss about Helen Mirren's striking accurate portrayal of The Queen and Michael Sheen's version of Tony Blair, but having seen both I'm still waiting to see what all the fuss was about.I did not enjoy this film. I thought it was poor.

Cunningly put together: real footage spliced with suppositional fictional dialogue and events. Mirren and Cromwell are exceedingly well cast, and convincing, if slightly one-dimensional. It's the way the parts are conceived and written. But Charles, Blair, Cherie, Alistair and Queen Mum, unfortunately come across as little more than cartoon caricatures. This is the problem with the movie as a whole: it seems rather shallow and superficial, as if its subject were really Diana, and not the Queen.Stephen Frears is nevertheless a subtle, multi-layered director. His early production, "The Hit", is a masterful example. This film, like that one, is certainly memorable, and has a trick of making you reflect and think about the implications of the events taking place. There would appear to be a distinct advantage of having a hereditary figurehead, in effect a President, with no political power, who is brought up and trained to behave in a responsible, representative manner. This is not a position suitably occupied by a ditzy celebrity type of bimbo, going all out to court popular publicity. The alternative to the tradition evolved in the UK over the last thousand years is currently transpiring across the pond. An amusing and telling remark was made, to the effect that Blair's charisma might possibly also one day evaporate.

This film deals with a character still alive and contemporary for us all: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, one of the oldest monarchs in recent history and one of the most influential figures in the world. In this film, she faces the dramatic days following the death of Princess Diana. Directed by Stephen Frears, the film has script by Peter Morgan and has Helen Mirren in the title role.Princess Diana was, as long as she lived, one of the most powerful and influential figures of European royalty, helping to popularize and modernize the monarchy the same way that, decades earlier, Grace Kelly did. Even today, there are people with very different views of Diana. Some people idolized her, other despised her and didn't like the way that, allegedly, she manipulated yellow press. Ironically, even her death is subject of debate and doubts. However, most people agreed about the antipathy between herself and the Queen, her mother-in- law. The film deals with the difficulties of the monarch to react to the death of a woman she inwardly abhorred, and the danger that unpopularity represents today to the old monarchical gears.Helen Mirren surprised at the role of the British sovereign. She turned on her, gave her body, soul and life of an absolutely brilliant way, worthy of the Oscar for Best Leading Actress she won. She managed to give the public the image of a woman torn between what to do and to show, and what she really feels and wants. A woman educated to rule and not show weakness, keeping her composure under any circumstances and following the protocol, even when people demanded it to be broken. The film even shows one of the lesser known truths of this monarch, which is that of knowing how to drive, thanks to the period she spent as British Army auto mechanics. Michael Sheen also shone, in the role of Tony Blair, a smart prime minister who quickly realized what the Queen was slow to understand: that the will of the people was overlapping the state protocol.The makeup and costume work was at the highest level. The scenarios also helped to set up the characters and show the everyday life of British royalty, without falling into the cliché of the luxurious and impersonal rooms, usually found in royal palaces. The photograph fulfills its role with intelligence and the soundtrack, by Alexandre Desplat, is excellent and fits perfectly to the film.