A strong script combined with the strong hand of a British director, most of this movie takes place during the week following the Aug. 31, 1997, death of Diana, the Princess of Wales. Helen Mirren, who bears, albeit with makeup, an uncanny resemblance to Queen Elizabeth, offers a deeply stoic yet heart-felt look at the monarch and the monarchy itself. The Queen had no depth of connection with nor understanding of Diana and certainly no rapport. She had little, if any, awareness of how the public’s view of the monarchy itself had changed. The Queen and Prince Phillip, vacationing at Balmoral, were quite convinced, after Diana’s death that the people would quickly “come to their senses” and retreat from such dramatic shows of emotion. As Prince Phillip chirped, “Give it 48 hours and it’ll all blow over.” The mounting outrage over the Queen’s refusal to return to London or to make official gestures of grief forced the hand of Tony Blair who became her unappreciated guide out of the morass. The royals seem to have read everything wrong. Diana was seen as an irritant, one who was determined to remain beautiful and free and headstrong when the monarchy would indeed try to stifle and suffocate her, to make her small like them. The symbolism of the stag in the wilderness with the Queen, representing the doomed Diana, is so real and touching that you sense through the Queen’s tears that she may have finally recognized the truth. The shooting of the film in two different speeds, was ingenious yet only the most astute of audiences will notice.
James Cromwell portrayed all I’ve ever heard about Prince Phillip. Enough said of that character. Michael Sheen plays a newly installed and naïve Tony Blair. I think it was Sylvia Simms who played the Queen Mother; good job. Alex Jennings played Prince Charles in a warmer and more human manner than I’ve seen before. Good luck to this film and to Helen Mirren at Oscar time.