The Queen by Stephen Frears

Goodbye England’s rose
May you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart
You called out to our country
And you whispered to those in pain
Now you belong to heaven
And the stars spell out your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind…

by Elton John

Few from our generation will ever forget the day Princess Diana died. It will be even harder to forget the mass hysteria that set in worldwide in the week that followed.

Diana, beautiful and glamorous, the square peg in the round hole, was the ex-wife of Prince Charles, and loved and admired by all in the world. Many people blamed the royal house for pushing her into a reckless life and then to her death.

‘The Queen’ is not about Princess Diana, but the weeks of turmoil that followed in England after her death. Tony Blair has been elected as the new Labour Leader after 15 years of Tory government. It is imperative that he create a favorable impression with the Crown. As news of Diana’s death flashes across the world , appeasing public sentiment becomes a critical political agenda. However, the Royal family is adamant in considering Diana’s death as private, family affair, more so since her divorce with Charles excludes her from the royal family. The Queen and family refuses to address the public and decide to hold a private funeral. The public sentiment goes from being sympathetic to angry, as they refuse to understand the technicalities of Diana’s royal status and demand to see some emotion and remorse from the royal family. Blair senses the public sentiment and tries to warn the Queen of all the  negative publicity that the royal family is inviting. Things come to pass, when a poll shows that 25% of the people believe that the monarchy has outlived its purpose.

The Queen is understandably stunned at the near sainthood status Diana has achieved after her death. She believes that quiet restraint is the right behavior and thinks it’s against the dignity of the royal family to play out to the media circus. However, with increasing pressure from Charles, Tony and the public, the Queen relents to the demand of a public tribute.

Helen Mirren, as HRH Queen Elizabeth II, is brilliant and well deserves her Oscar. Mirren recreates the persona with the voice and mannerisms. She beautifully portrays the entire range of emotions that the role required. The other stellar performance I believe belongs to Michael Sheen as Tony Blair.

Stephen Frears successfully recreates the environment and lifestyle of a royal household. He is brilliant in retaining those minor elements in each of the characters that make them more appealing to the audience. For instance, there is an instance where post dinner Tony offers to do the dinner dishes in his home. Though it’s very irrelevant to the story, it basically highlights the nuisances that make these characters real. The movie also attempts to show the Queen’s side of the story and, as a viewer, you definitely feel for her situation.

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