The Academy Award Nominated Film, The Queen

Director Stephen Frears outdid himself with his 2006 film The Queen, which portrays Queen Elizabeth II's struggles to acclimate to a changing world in the days following Princess Diana's 1997 death. The film is nominated for several Oscars including: Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress for Helen Mirren.

This film can most be noted for its casting. Frears splices actual news coverage from the days following Diana's death as well as pictures of the Princess into the film. In some moments -- the actors so completely meld with their characters (particularly Mirren) -- that can become briefly convinced they are watching news footage from the time, rather than a film. It has been quite a while since I've seen a film cast as well as this, with each actor giving such a brilliant and full perfomance. Mirren is absolutely stunning in every regal word and gesture as Queen Elizabeth II.; Michael Sheen's Tony Blair is young, fresh, and effervescent; and there are no slouches in the rest of the cast either. The only performance that leaves something to be desired is Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair (Tony Blair's wife). She comes up short against the rest of the cast.

I wish I could go on and on about each actor's performance because I've left many out, but I can't because they were all superb.

While the documentary-esque technique Frears uses of splicing news footage and photos into the film is successful in some respects because of the phenomenal cast...in some moments it is misplaced and overdone, ruining the scene. The re-created chase scene in which Diana's car speeds away from French Papparazzi, with a Diana tribute photo montage edited in, is the most obvious and obtrusive of these moments. I'm on the edge about the funeral scene, there is some editing and splicing in there, which to some may be off-putting, but nothing that really disturbs the flow of the film. Watch for some of these moments when you see the film and decide for yourself.

This film most likely won't tell you anything you don't already know about the series of events leading up to and following Diana's death, or the characters in the Royal Family for that matter (if you were alive and old enough to remember)...but this is a must see. I picked up a few small things I didn't know -- Royal Family customs (including protocol after a death in the family) and one or two odd bits of information about Queen Elizabeth II. But the movie isn't meant to be an expose or entirely a docu-drama. Frears seems to intend to draw some parallels between Princess Di and the Queen; to show the modernizing of the world around a queen who was the modern woman of her day in many ways; the country's need for a man like Tony Blair, as a sort of interpreter of the people for a queen who couldn't understand their language; and a tribute to Di. But most of all, the film simply attempts to remove the wall that stands between the Royal Family and the people...and he succeeds in The Queen. Frears brings humanity to each character in some way, without losing too much truth in the process.

The Queen gets a four star Bella rating. Tune in on Oscar Night to see if The Queen wins Best Picture and Helen Mirren, Best Actress for her role as The Queen.