The Queen: A Psychological Study

A week in the life of a Queen. Well, a summer, really. The Queen is a psychological study of Queen Elizabeth's reactions to Princess Diana's death in the summer of 1997. The Queen is a study of her private sentiments and what those sentiments did to her country at that unprecedented moment. Though not addressed directly, glimpses emerge showing the feelings that proceeded the horrifically stunning event of the death of Princess Diana. This portrayal of Queen Elizabeth, directed by Stephen Frears and unfalteringly written by Peter Morgan, is very sympathetic toward Her Majesty, matching quite closely the details and impressions that came out to public notice at the time, nine years ago. There is in this film no trace of the plausibility of prior knowledge of conspiracy: Her Majesty's actions preclude that possibility, which in this movie's representation, rules out theories of royally plotted assassination.

The story of The Queen opens with Tony Blair's election as Prime Minister and head of the Labour Government, heralding the introduction of a new approach to Government and English life. Speeches are quoted from in which Mr. Blair (Michael Sheen) calls for "modernization" of England and of Government. A counterpoint to this call for modernization is the next scene in which the Queen (Helen Mirren) is sitting for an official Royal Portrait. She is dressed in copious royal regalia, pointing out that she is, indeed, a ruling monarch. The shots jump back and forth between Tony Blair and the Queen until they are brought together by protocol at Buckingham Palace. The royal Queen must invite Mr. Blair to be the new Prime Minister, or he may not begin.

Then, a new character is introduced by word of mouth in The Queen. This character is Princess Diana. She is causing some new scandal of independent exertion of will and expression of choice, the thing the Queen - the monarchical head of a family that upholds Institutional tradition, protocol and precedent - apparently cannot forgive her for. Princess Diana's introduction into a story begun in summer of 1997 tells instantly that soon disaster will fall and people will be drawn into a vortex of unprecedented events.

Technically as superior as the subject matter, the cinematographic and story elements of The Queen built a rhythm and aid in developing the psychological insights at the heart of The Queen. Even though the interiors (Allen McDonald) cover a range of styles, there was no loss of a sense of cohesion, as is sometimes apparent in less technically superior films (as for example in Bride and Prejudice). The cinematography (Affaso Beato) faithfully imparted the stylistic nature of these interiors from Mr. Blair's cramped offices and unkempt kitchen to the sweeping grandeur of the Queen's apartments and estate lands at Balmoral. Pulling these visual effects together was the quiet measured funereal tone of The Queen, artfully directed by Stephen Frears (Mrs Henderson Presents). He, along with writer Peter Morgan (The Last King of Scotland), gives us a candid look at the private lives of the two most important personages in the power elite of England in 1997 by, for example, going first inside family life at Number 10 Downing Street and then on a monarchical family barbecue presided over by Prince Philip (James Cromwell, The Longest Yard). It is these insider glimpses that also show us Prince Charles' (Alex Jennings, Babel) less calloused and hard-hearted side. These technical aspects all enlarge our knowledge of the characters and frame the psychological study of their reactions, especially the Queen's.

It is interesting to note that the week following Princess Diana's death, the royal family retreated to their Balmoral estate, and so they also do in The Queen. There, the sport of stalking (hunting) was seized upon as a good diversion, a means of getting the boys out in the air, which was (rightly) recognized as a restorative for grief and illness in general. Queen Elizabeth doubts that stalking is a good activity for the boys, as it might seem heartless should the press get wind of it. Later, she says that she doesn't feel much like stalking. It is well known that there are those who perceived the royal family as out stalking Diana because she had different - more modern - ideas than the reigning monarch. Besides the psychological revelation that the Queen has second thoughts about stalking, an interesting parallel is silently set up between Princess Diana and Prime Minister Tony Blair, thus creating an interesting triangle between Monarch, Princess and Prime Minister.

While at Balmoral the Queen has one particularly divine moment when, alone on a hilltop in the wild acres of Balmoral she comes face to face with a stag. The stag has a peculiar connection to monarchy: It once was they who owned all the stags, exclusively, so a tight symbolic relationship exists between monarch and stag. This stag had a significant effect on the Queen at a moment of decision. It is a beautifully written and produced inclusion in The Queen.

Each of the actors gives wholly commendable representations of people still very much living: stance, set of shoulders, gait, deportment are all polished and believable. Supporting characters playing the supporting staff added significantly to the overall successful effect of The Queen: they were very sober and almost reverential in their deportment, all except Blair's speech writer, Alastair Campbell (Mark Bazeley), who brought in a bright counterpoint to the prevailing tone.

It is important, even though archival footage is incorporated into The Queen, that the Paris car crash, which proved to be fatal for Princess Diana and Dodi Fayid, is done with grace, kindness and, as my colleague says, respect. Hearts would have been unkindly rent once again had the crash been handled with less intelligence and wise compassion by director Frears.

The suggested theme of The Queen is the profound consequences that can be attendant upon our stubborn insistence on our own perspective and on an unforgiving and unrelenting attitude. It is also about the impact of courage and fortitude when applied to what must be done even though it may be distasteful; about the benefits of warmth extended to those who are opposed to all that we believe in, as Tony Blair puts it to his staff.

Since The Queen is a psychological study of reactions to a catastrophic event, there is little action; the biggest action moment comes when Queen faces nature, but that, too, turns into an exquisite psychological moment. Some might call this a demerit. I personally do not. In my estimation The Queen is flawless. I see another Academy Awards contender. My rating for The Queen is 5 Quiet but thoroughly Engrossing Stars.
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