December 28, 2009 -- This is another in the endless stream of movies about the British monarchy, but a cut above the average in terms of story and acting. It has the usual palace intrigue and political machinations in high places which occasionally play out in terms of sexual politics. There is nothing here you haven't seen before if you've seen very many of these kinds of movies, but it is better than most. Instead of people in costumes grimly reciting dialogue written in dull flowery language, this movie creates actual characters one can care about. It really doesn't matter if they are royal or not.

The main character, as the title would suggest, is Victoria (played by Emily Blunt of “Sunshine Cleaning”), the young woman who later becomes queen of England. The other main character is Prince Albert (Rupert Friend of “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,” the man who would later become Victoria's husband (but not king). The film starts out with some background on Victoria, her family tree, and her situation. If her uncle, King William (Jim Broadbent of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”) dies before she becomes 18 years old, a regent will be named to rule England. In that case, her mother's advisor, Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong of “RocknRolla”) would become the power behind the throne. Neither King William nor Elizabeth want that. If Victoria becomes 18 years old before the king dies, however, she becomes Queen of England, upon the king's death, in her own right and can control her own destiny, unless she signs an agreement to allow a regent to rule in her stead. Conroy tries strong arm tactics to force Victoria to sign a regency agreement, but she refuses.

Various other political moves are afoot in England and elsewhere. Others are lining up to be advisors to to the future queen, or to marry her. Since England is a powerful country, it would be a political advantage for many royal families to marry into the British royal family. Victoria is a smart girl, but politically naive. She doesn't understand, for instance, that her friend the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany of “The Da Vinci Code”) is acting at the behest of others who have their own political agendas. Melbourne uses his friendship with Victoria to his full advantage, influencing her decisions.

It is a thing that most people, including Victoria, can't really handle, becoming the ruler of a nation at the age of 18. She makes some political blunders. She begins to realize that she needs Albert, who has the wisdom borne of experience she lacks. The main part of the movie is a love story between Victoria and Albert. After they are married they have clashes when Victoria feels that Albert is usurping some of her power. They eventually come to an understanding, however. Victoria realizes that Albert is someone she can depend upon. He has no agenda, other than loving her and wanting to improve the lives of the English people. It is a very nice love story and Victoria and Albert are fully realized characters. Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend give strong performances as the two lovers. This film rates a B.

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Copyright © 2009 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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