I'll tell you right now that Helen Mirren is going to win the Best Actress Oscar. If she doesn't i'll eat my hat, it really is the performance of the year, in a different league from Penelope Cruz and Meryl Streep (as good as they were). Also worthy of a mention is Michael Sheen's surprisingly good turn as Tony Blair, which has on the most part been overlooked along with a great supporting cast. I doubt we'll ever know how accurate the sharp script really is, but that' doesn't matter as it feels real and is extremely well put together. No matter what your views on the monarchy, or what happened in the weeks following Diana's death i don't think anyone could be upset or offended by the story that's told. Often darkly amusing and frequently touching it's a timely reminder of that summer and the effect it had on the country.

I've increased my grade from B+ on first viewing to A- on the second, this is going to have a great awards run this year and i'll be right behind it.

I agree with pretty everything Andrew said. The only complaint I have is James Cromwell. I don't know how close the depiction is to the real Prince Philip, but the character in the film surely gets on my nerve whenever he spoke, especially in the second half when he was so stubborn. I felt it was a little over the top and wish he could have toned it down some.

Mirren gave such a controlled while multi-layered performance and did it without any Oscar-baity type of hysterical breakdowns or fiery speeches. So good.

I also like the way real footages are used and how the characters are integrated into them. Another good decision is to not show Elton John singing Candle in the Wind at the funeral.

A-

great flick. but i did lose some admiration for helen mirren after learning she just played another queen elizbeth on HBO recently.

Well I'm not as glowing as the rest of you...

It was good, but not "great". Helen Mirren was spectacular as the Queen but it is much harder to respect her portrayal then other performances this year. There is a wealth of information, videos and even real interviews with Queen Elizabeth that make her role more of a mimic act then truly creating a character and so in my eyes her performance was slightly less impressive.

Other then that the film was quite good. It flowed well, though at times some of the real-life footage felt very out of place and seemed to sort of detract from the overall film. It was good, I'm just not gushing over it. B

Curious as to why you think that. While it may have been a bit cliched, I think a great finale would have been him playing that song with perhaps a brief montage of whatever happened following the film...

I just think it would be way too sentimental and disruptive to the flow.

To me, like Hoffman last year, Mirren's performance is much more than just mimicry. There is actually not that much information on Elizabeth II given the secrecy of the institution, and Mirren absolutely became Elizabeth in the movie instead of just acts as her. Also, the two Elizabeths are from two completely different periods with different manners, so I also don't buy the argument of portraiting one making the other easier.

There is no way this film can live up to the reviews among regular viewers. Hence the IMDB score.

Still it sounds good.

But...she is still alive, that's why I think a lot of it was mimicry. Don't get me wrong, Mirren was utterly fantastic in the film, I just wasn't as crazy overall about the film as others. Maybe I'm just biased but I'm tired of people portraying other real humans getting so much acclaim while the real performances where an actor/actress has to create a character from words on a page, often times get snubbed.

What can I say, but it's true: I'm a Royal fanboy...

I love The Queen!

The highest praise I can offer a movie based on recent history like this one, is that even though I knew the news story from that week first hand, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it would all turn out in the movie. Helen Mirren is great (no surprise) and although physically not an exact match, does a superb job of the difficult task of playing a famous living figure. Same goes for the guy who plays Tony Blair. I especially enjoyed the domestic scenes of the royal family at home (or driving!) when no one is watching. And that scene with the little girl and the flowers - outstanding.

A marvellous examination of tradition vs. modernization and the degree to which the past must adapt to the present without breaking the future.

6 out of 5.

Well, the real Elizabeth looks and acts really stoic, regal, and aloof... while Mirren's Elizabeth while still regal, is more involved and emotional. I'd gladly take the cinematic one than the real one anytime.

That said, I enjoyed the film tremendously. And Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is exceptional.

Likely because, unless you know the Queen personally, we only ever see her public face. The nice thing about this movie is that it showed her "behind closed doors"...

I agree with bradley, but I would emphasize how even handed this film was to both sides of this issue. While Phillip and Mrs. Blair would potentially have great trouble with this movie, the film doesn't cast the opposite side in an overly negative light. In fact, the film is actually *gasp* positive.

I found the last meeting in the movie between Blair and the Queen to be a little off due to Blair's over-enthusiasm at that point, but otherwise the screenplay crackled. There was also a little too much Diana-masturbation considering the movie was also fair at throwing some barbs at her (that she was a drama queen, manipulator, and that she was somewhat of a different person in private than the public's glowing perception made her out to be).

But the scenes with Charles were great and Mirren was fantastic. Who knows how close to the truth this account is, the movie definately has a theme and an aim, which is especially relevant when you consider how Mrs. Blair was treated and what is happening to Tony Blair currently. There are, however, enough behind the scenes players speaking to highlight some of the events from that week, which provides the perfect skeleton for Peter Morgan's script.

This is a perfect counter piece to Frears' previous film, Mrs. Henderson Presents, which was about a brash and extremely liberal high society woman who decides to create a piece which pushes the boundaries of modern theater.

My brief review posted on IMDb:

I am surprised how much I like the film. The whole saga surround Diana's death, as any important historical event, interests me a great deal, but the story looks perfect for a made-for-TV documentary on History Channel instead of a full-blown movie. I was wrong, because what Stephen Frears created is a fascinating portrayal of the royal family after the tragedy that deserves the big screen treatment. The script is sharp and witty, with unexpected humors permeated throughout. The real-life footages are adeptly used. We will never know how accurate the story is given the secrecy of the institution, but what is shown on the screen grabbed me deeply.

Still, the film would not have the effect it generated without truly the best performance of the year. Like Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Capote, Helen Mirren did not act as Elizabeth II; she became Elizabeth II. Yes, her manner is spot on; however, what she did is so much more than just a mimicry. She gave the character life without overplaying it. We sense her conflicting emotions through facial expressions and body language. It's such a refreshingly understated, multi-layered performance at a time where many actors try to wow the audience by yelling, breaking down hysterically, and overacting. Give her the Oscar now.

Among the supporting roles, Michael Sheen shined as Tony Blair. The story is quite favorable toward Blair, implying he is one who saved the monarchy, but Sheen also made us connect with him. Alex Jennings showed Prince Charles' emotional side in limited screen time. The only complaint I have is regarding James Cromwell. Maybe Prince Philip is equally stubborn in real life, but the one-noted character in the film certainly got on my nerve with his constant rants toward Diana.

Overall, the docudrama is definitely one of the best films I have seen this year. Highly recommended.

A-

I think this was a very good movie and I enjoyed the Queen, Tony Blair and Lady Diana parts. I agree that Prince Philip was a little too rough in the movie but I felt that the movie also went alittle overboard with Blair's wife being one note and then Prince Charles being alittle too much also. Unless he was really that way during that time and who would have known, I would have liked less scenes with him and a maybe a couple extra scenes between the Queen and Tony Blair.

For what it's worth, the movie's portrayal matched my own impression of Prince Phillip...

Andaroo makes some fantastic points, as usual. Mirren simply nailed this role, though the entire cast is in top form. Mirren, struggling to meet the expectations of the people and of tradition, does a beautiful job. Perhaps the best scene in the film is when Mirren, stranded in the river, watches the stag pass: a symbol of dignity and a target of frustration and anger. The scene, from a dramatic standpoint, blew me away. This was a treat to watch, being very even handed, occasionally funny, and all around one of the most pleasant films to be released this year.

A-

Well I don't have much to add here.

Brilliant movie with an amazing performance from the central character. Mirren has perfected the art of acting to the point where it feels truly effortless.

I personally felt the scene with the stag represented the Queen's conflicting feelings towards the traditions she's obligated to uphold (when she secretly urges it to "run"). In fact, the movie's main theme was about the conflicts that can arise between different forms of legitimacy (tradition vs legality, charisma vs tradition, etc), and the private effects those institutions have on the people who occupy them.

WHen I first went into the movie, I didn't expect nearly as much "personal" drama (since it was about the death of a public figure), but that feeling was quickly adjourned.

A

Yeah, the Jeep driving scene was great. Both sad and touching.

Let's say someone has very very little to no interest about the Royal family and is only really aware that Diana died in a car crash (and that there's several theories as to why) - do you guys think I'll still be as enamoured over The Queen as everyone else?

Tough call. It's a character study focused on the Royal family, but perhaps you might find it generalizable to power politics...

This was completely wonderful.

B

Nice little film with a fantastic performance by my favourite GILF Mirren

This year's Capote. C-

Things I disliked about the film:

• Much of the interactions and scenarios seemed completely artificial and unbelievable, i.e. when Blair criticizes someone on his staff for making the rude remark about the Queen, or most of the conversations between Blair and The Queen
• The stag that appeared in the film was as laughable and heavy-handed as when the rat appeared in The Departed
• The tradition vs. modernism theme was superficial at best, expressed through artificial dialogue and the laughable stag metaphor rather than through any real character evolution
• Helen Mirren's performance was just good without being great. Michael Sheen gave a more inspired performance.
• Almost every moment in the film, either Blair or the Royal Family is watching TV news or reading a newspaper. A bit unbelievable that they're all media news junkies where everything they do is dictated directly as a result of the power of the media. (It'd be more believable if they were the ones that were spinning and influencing the media)
• The scope of this movie could've been accomplished in 40 minutes, rather than dragged out so long.

This film was overrated without being anything special. I strongly caution anyone from seeing this if they aren't a) over 40 years old, or b) either British or follows the British media. If you are seeing it just due to Oscar buzz instead of prior interest in the subject matter, you might want to reconsider.

Yeah, and there's also a great deal in there about the shift in politics which is not just a GB thing either. Really the message of the film is: "Respect and honor the past and the path of how we have gotten to where we are, but be open enough to new experiences to adjust for changing times and changing moods". If you, MovieDude, find that concept interesting, you'll probably like The Queen.