December 12, 2006 -- “The Queen” is a film which endeavors to explain why we should care one little fig about the British royal family and the departed Princess Diana. I still don't understand why we should care, but I have to admit it is a superbly well-acted movie and it was fascinating to watch the petty jealousies play out amongst the royal set. It was also interesting to watch the interplay between the royal family and the elected government. It was much ado about nothing, to be sure, but interesting nonetheless, a bit like the O.J. Simpson trial, the Michael Jackson trial or the Robert Blake trial, this was the royals on trial, and they were found wanting.

This film comes out at the same time as the final British report on the cause of the August 31, 1997 death of Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris. The report states (drum roll) it was a car accident caused mainly by a drunk driver in control of the limo Princess Diana was riding in. What a shock! Two years of investigation costing more than $7 million (enough to feed thousands of starving people for a year) just to state what was obvious nine years ago. That's how nuts this whole royal circus is. Princess Diana, by all accounts, was a very nice person who devoted herself to good causes. She was one of several thousand people who died that same year who were also nice people who also supported good causes, but Diana is the only one on which the British government is still spending millions of dollars investigating idiotic conspiracy theories about her death.

This, then is the background for the story of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. Most of the story takes place after Princess Diana's death. It is a struggle of sorts between the Queen (played perfectly by Helen Mirren of “The Calendar Girls”) and Princess Diana. The Queen has to be favored in this contest. After all, she is the queen and she's still alive, while Diana, though younger and prettier, is dead. Amazingly, Diana, who was not even considered part of the royal family anymore after her divorce from Prince Charles (played by Alex Jennings of “Babel” in one of the movie's weaker performances), is more popular than the Queen. This despite the fact that the Queen has devoted her entire life to public service and to England. Go figure. The Queen, her mother (Sylvia Syms of “What a Girl Wants” in a very fine performance) and her husband, Prince Phillip (James Cromwell of “Babe”) all believe the public “will come to its senses” eventually. They were wrong. The public never did come to its senses about Princess Diana. Waiting for the public to come to its senses can be frustrating. Many of us had to wait seven long years for the public to come to its senses about President George Bush.

The Queen, who is no big fan of Diana, takes the stand that the Royal family is going to keep quiet about Diana's death. The funeral will be private. The main thing is to protect Princess Diana's children from unwanted stress. The public, however, demands a public showing of grief on the Queen's part, and the Queen finds this public display of emotion most distasteful. What the Queen does not realize is there is no way she can win against a martyr like Diana and that her resistance to what the public wants could bring down the monarchy itself. That, obviously, would not be such a bad thing, but the Queen finds it within herself to do what it takes to protect the monarchy. She eats crow and issues a public statement of sorrow over Diana's death on live television, publicly defeated by Diana. It is a very bitter pill to swallow for the Queen.

The turmoil surrounding this battle is such that the newly-elected Prime Minister, Tony Blair (well played by look-alike Michael Sheen of “Blood Diamond”) is caught up in the middle of the battle. In one scene he expresses his disgust at having to waste his time on trivial matters of royal ceremonial protocol. He's the prime minister of England. He has more important things to do, like run the government. He believes in the value of the monarchy, however, and he does his best to help the Queen while trying to appease the public. The relationship that develops between The Queen and Blair is very interesting. Also very interesting is the relationship between Blair, his wife, Cherie (Helen McCrory of “Casanova”) and his press secretary, Alastair Campbell (Tim McMullan of “Dangerous Beauty”), who writes just the right speeches for Blair to deliver. Campbell has a better sense of the feeling of the English people than either Blair or the Queen. The Queen's deputy private secretary, Sir Robin Janvrin (Roger Allam of “V for Vendetta”), also has a good grasp of what the Queen needs to do to get back in the good graces of the people, but he is somewhat limited in what he can do.

This kind of frantic political maneuvering meant a great deal more when royalty actually ruled England in fact. Now, it hardly rises to the level of a soap opera. Royalty is a quaint custom that has largely lost its meaning in England. There may still be places in the world where people actually believe that kings and queens rule by the favor of God, but those places are few and getting fewer all the time. This film will give no comfort to those who believe in the value of royalty, but it will provide some entertainment to those who have some interest in English Royalty for whatever reason. There are a number of anglophiles in this country who still have some passion for all things English, including royalty. There are enough of them in Hollywood to make this a good bet for some Oscars come Academy Award time next year (Mirren is considered a lock for a best actress Oscar). Don't be surprised if it wins a bunch of prizes. After all, it is a very good movie. This film rates a B+.

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Copyright © 2006 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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