The Queen

The Queen **1/2

As a performance piece, "The Queen" is by far one of the best I've seen in a while. Helen Mirren is mind blowing as Queen Elizabeth II, and she is a shoe-in to get a nomination for the Best Actress Oscar. Hell, maybe even a win, because the Academy does like to honor the vets. For the rest of the movie, the actual point of storytelling, direction, etc, even as a historical piece, it just didn't do anything for me. I was not impressed by what I was seeing, and it often felt like nothing was really happening. But I did admire the acting enough, which makes "The Queen' worth seeing, just to see all those great actors at work.

In the beginning, we see Queen Elizabeth getting a painting of her done. She sits prominently, with perfect posture. In a rather silly title sequence, the words "The Queen" on her left side, and then Mirren looks straight in the camera, as if she is simply winking at us. Not a good place to start. And then we shift into the introduction to Tony Blair, who was just elected by the people. All that stands between him, and the position of Prime Minister, he must get approved by the Queen, which he takes with intimidation and fear. He is given a list of instructions to follow on entering the room that the Queen is in, including never to show his back in her presence. The Queen approves of Blair, and the beginning of their rocky relationship begins. A few nights later, she receive some news, her trusted advisors waking her up. Princess Diana has been killed in car accident, the former wife of Prince Charles. The Queen refuses to give any sort of public statement, and while the country goes into a state of tragedy, the Royal family doesn't treat it as one. The Queen does not consider Diana part of the Royal family once she left. Blair tries to do what he can to convince the family to give a statement over Diana's death. The conflicting views: The family considers it a private matter, while the public wants to be on the know about what is happening. Elizabeth even calls for a private funeral, where the public cannot come in. They opt to stand in front of the palace, with candles, calling for the Queen's retirement, which is when Blair steps in to see if he could make things somewhat normal again.

Mirren plays the Queen with such power, and is obviously the perfect choice. She looks like her, she acts like her. . . .this is the second great historical performance I've seen all year, the first being Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland." James Cromwell does a fine job as Prince Philip, portrayed as pretty unsympathetic to what is going on around him. And the last acting mention is Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, and actor who I never really noticed until now. And while "The Queen" tells a good moral about family values and political values, it never really got off the "made for tv" movie standard. It's script never finds a proper tone, drifting from a drama to light comedic wit. At one moment, The Queen is staring straight ahead, not knowing what her next move should be, and the next she is opening a door while a pack of domesticated dogs comes running out. Oddly enough, "The Queen" was written by the same man who wrote "The Last King of Scotland," Peter Morgan, and it's obvious that he put a little more work in the latter film.

My favorite part of the script is probably the relationship between The Queen and Tony Blair. It doesn't get off to a fine start, with his a stuttering mess, and her a powerful royal ruler. One has been beloved for years, and the other may have won by a landslide, but is still just getting ready to begin a rule. However, there is shift halfway through, and Blair begins to be more beloved, while people are beginning to think that it should be time for The Queen to retire. And then a little bit of final irony is that Blair is starting to become a more negative leader, based on his experiences and input in the Iraq War. And yet, the two are always there for one another, throughout the entire film. They may not agree, but they are constantly civil. She has years and years of experience over her, and he respects that, but he believes that the time should come for her to stop doing what is right for her, and what the right thing that she should be doing for the people is. Mirren and Sheen portray their characters as experts, and as if they actually were them. It's also interesting to see how the Royal family could act. They are real people, and do not sit in a castle on a throne in front of many adoring servants. It doesn't work that way. They are people too, and Mirren gives human qualities to such a high royal figure. She makes mistakes, and does things that many would consider controversial. She is fantastic, and will be nominated. She also saves the film from being stuck in NBC Original Movie mode. However, I have a feeling that the film itself will be nominated for a Best Picture, but I just can't admire it as a Best Picture. Save for the acting, I could not see anything special in this film at all. But, history is always beloved by the Academy, so this won't be the last time I hear about "The Queen." It's worth seeing for some great Oscar worthy acting, but for everything is, it's perfectly fine to watch in the confines of home.