Review: The Queen

The second film of the new season is Stephen Frears' The Queen, a thoroughly misunderstood film.

BBC online's Stella Papamichael, one of the (few) reviewers I respect and usually agree with, gets it wrong. The Queen is NOT supposed to be a serious, dramatic representation of the Royal Family or of the events surrounding Diana's death. Despite its occasional dramatic moments, The Queen is political satire, a comedy of manners pure and simple. There is an ongoing social commentary about royalty, power and protocol, but it is crystal-clear that Peter Morgan's screenplay does not aspire to be the definitive evaluation of either what happened in August 1997 or of the British Monarchy.

+ Dame. Helen. Mirren. Give that woman awards. Many awards. Lots of awards, preferably Academy ones. What an AMAZING performance. Her performance has changed the way we will look at the (real) Queen for ever. She obviously looks like the Queen in formal situations, but it is the way Mirren extends the character into uncharted territories and behind-the-camera situations that make this a rounded performance.

+ Cinematography, sets, costumes are all great. Alexandre Desplat delivers one more great soundtrack after De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté, Syriana and Girl with a Pearl Earring. He's now in the top-5 of my favourite contemporary film composers.

+ Michael Sheen (Tony Blair's spitting image) and the supporting cast, who make this a truly hilarious, enjoyable experience. Yes it often does resort to sit-com solutions and one-liners but that's the purpose! If one is patient and clever enough to read between the hilarious lines, there are important comments about class and the side effects of stiff-upper-lip and English "tradition and order" as Stephens, the servant in The Remains of the Day, would say.

- Having said that, the screenplay and the film do lack a certain dramatic gravitas. The one-dimensional nature of most characters [who serve a clear satirical purpose] does limit the film's overall impact, which is not as big as expected. No, The Queen is not the greatest film of the year (although the year has just started and we haven't seen the rest, so maybe it is!).

Therefore, while maybe The Queen performed slightly below my expectations, it is still a great, funny, interesting, thought-provoking film that will certainly give you some insight into British mentality and the traditional way of life.