Helen Mirren: Queen of Emmy

Walking into an anonymous film-that is, a movie one does not know the title of with actors who are seemingly nameless-is an intriguing experience. The mystery of the cinematic adventure increases tenfold when previous reviews and biased opinions are erased from the minds of an audience. There is only the drama, the awe, and the raw emotion clutching tightly to the back of a viewer's throat and his or her own sweet opinion. Such is the way the film "The Queen" should be seen. It is not an amazing movie because "it's supposed to be really good," as anyone else's opinion would read; it is a phenomenon because it is simply that.

"The Queen" follows, in brief, the life story of Queen Elizabeth II of England, with a special emphasis on her reactions and strength to the death of Princess Diana of Wales. An intertwining involves the newly appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair, his persuasion of her Majesty to grace her people with her presence in their time of grief, and the Queen's consequential education in the needs of a new generation of British subjects.

I sat down with my father to watch this film when I heard a sensitive set of keywords, "Princess Diana." Though I was on the tail edge of being too young to remember her when she was alive, I do vividly remember my mother in tears at the news of Diana's death. At first, I believed I was watching a documentary about the lovely princess, but then, a most creative and cinematic effect played out, pixilated before my eyes. The raw colors of a documentary had just transformed into those richly saturated colors of a feature film. Intrigued, and without question, I was riveted to my rocking chair in hope of an inspiring evening.

What I received was almost beyond words.

The depiction of the characters-from Queen Elizabeth I and II to Tony Blair to the key interviews from the subjects on the streets outside Buckingham Palace-was sheer genius. Helen Mirren deserves every ounce of that Emmy award, and Michael Sheen (as Tony Blair) needs some sort of gold star for both acting and best look-alike. Depicting persons who are still living, even though the events occurred years in the past, is a feat in itself. But to pull it off with such perfection as Mirren and Sheen is to present an audience with a theatric treat. Mirren is, in every clipped phrase and stern silver curl, the Queen Elizabeth.

Stephen Frears' fantastic vision for this work of art also deserves endless praise. Not only did he incorporate breathtaking panoramas of the United Kingdom's sprawling landscape, such that it would rival "Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings," but he could not have chosen a more emotional series of events to depict in his film. Along with a phenomenal cast, "The Queen" is, indeed, film perfected.

If the graces of her Majesty have not yet touched all you fanatic moviegoers as of this moment in time, it is necessary that you go see this film. Immediately.