"The Queen" (2006) - Film about Elizabeth II and the Death of Diana

[Sophus]

Sophus, were there many mentions of Diana? What I mean to say is, is this a Diana fest? I'm tempted to go and see it but I don't want to have to walk out of the cinema after paying a fortune so I'd rather be warned before hand.

HI BeatrixFan. The presence of Diana in the movie is the strange part. It shifts between autentic tv-cuts of Diana making the movie look very realistic and documentary and then long quiet scenes with the actors and music making the movie look like an academy award drama. It did'nt work all the time for me, but most of the time it was ok. So yes - there were a lot of mentions of Diana but not in form of an actress - only in form of old news stories from BBC and CNN... The description of Diana seemed to me quite neutral - as she is only described by the media clip and not by an actress - so I would'nt call it a Diana Fest; more an observation. The feelings in the film is all shown by the Queen... I will recommend the movie - especially for us in The Royal Forums as it is so rare to see an a-film depicting a royal person - it uses to be done by bad tv-series...

 

[Sophus]

That sounds sweet... but why would a queen who loves stalking deer want to save THIS deer? Sounds overly sentimental IMO. I guess it makes for a good movie.

It WAS overly sentimental - but it was the first time in the film that the Queen expressed any feelings...

 

[ysbel]

That sounds sweet... but why would a queen who loves stalking deer want to save THIS deer? Sounds overly sentimental IMO. I guess it makes for a good movie.

I think the movie director must have gotten carried away with the symbolism. Actually I've heard from some objective critics that don't care about royalty or Diana that its a good movie so that it a good endorsement.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Thankyou Sophus. I've decided not to go and see the film. I'm happy to be ignorant on this one.

 

[selrahc4]

There is especially one scene with a deer who is hunted and killed in the highland (a beautiful symbol of Diana whose name report to the Roman godess Diana who was often pictured as a deer). The Queen tries to save it but without luck...

The symbolism of the deer might instead be a metaphor for the Queen herself (monarch of the glen [the stag] meets monarch, both beleaguered).

 

[BeatrixFan]

Or it could be cinematic snot.

 

[Panther2000]

What nonsense. It is a film. Who really knows how accurate it is. The British people did not have a "collective nervouse breakdown" there is no such thing. They recognized that had she been treated with decency and love from the prince, this young, lovely, troubled woman would still be alive. The villifying machines could not work as well when she was alive. She could answer. They had to wait until her death. Then they spewed as much muck as they could, so as to build up the prince's tarnished image. The Queen was totally out of touch with her subjects on this, as demonstrated. It was a time when the sacrosanct BRF had to answer to a very distraught public. They did not like it. Their more open attitudes today, stem from that very time.

Very well stated.


& the Hits just keep coming when it comes to Diana. I guess now she is to blame for the Lack of response to the public. & When went on TV & made their feelings know. Well. That is diana's fault also.

But Yes it will be a interesting Movie I don't know if I will be going to see it. I have to read the reviews 1st. Great Acting is always a plus, But Screenplay is more importnant to me. But, this big deal about the movie & how Helen does or doesn't does this role Is really not a Big deal. But, Helen is getting a nice buzz right now. However, it is early & there is her competition. Cate Blanchet, Kate Winslet( who has been nominated 4 times already) & there is another Dark horse out there. She has already won the Emmy for a Queen & the Acadmey members may feel Ok Been there Done that. But, I can see a Nomination though.

 

[ysbel]

Or it could be cinematic snot.

I tend to agree with you.

 

[Skydragon]

I am not sure if this is the right place for this article but, here goes!

What was that all about?

For all the emotion and sense of crisis that surrounded it, the death and mourning of Princess Diana—re-lived in Stephen Frears’s new film—was one of the most spectacular non-events of our time.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/10/01/what_was_that_all_about/

 

[Henri M.]

Today a film-critic from Belgium analyzed the movie in the program 'The Seventh Day' (a Sunday current affairs program on the Flemish TV).

He said that the initial reaction of The Queen and the royal family was one of understated empathy, 'stiff upperlip' and discretion. It was obvious that there was a terrible sadness and grief in the family, but that -naturally- the Queen wanted to keep this 'en famille' and took the Princes William and Harry under her comforting eyes.

The problem however, so analyzed that critic (Marc Reynebeau), was that Diana, Princess of Wales was a forebearer of the British 'new aristocracy' which are the Victoria Beckhams and today's unstoppable celebrity culture, "the anglosaxon disease". Diana was more a celebrity than a royal, to the taste of the royal family that was. And to the taste of the establishment.

So when Diana died, it was not the serene atmosphere the royal family expected with a death of a (former) member of the royal family. Instead a sort of hysteria, an Elvis-mania broke out. 'Their Diana' was dead. And suddenly 'the public' did not respect the family's wish to do it their own way. Suddenly the tabloids did shout: 'SHOW US YOU CARE, MA'AM !' and demanded the Queen to be in London and let the flag flying.

It must have traumatized the Queen (and the royal family). Marc Reynebeau was positive on the person of Diana on itself. He was overly negative on her 'contribution' to the monarchy. He blamed her the 'Beckhamization' of the monarchy.

For so far the Belgian TV.

 

[Oppie]

Another good review. I wasn't impressed by the preview but all these reviews are making me change my mind I might end up going to see it.

http://entertainment.sympatico.msn.ca/movies/articles/1387456.armx

Yet Mirren so fully becomes Elizabeth, the film eerily feels like a privileged, stolen peek at life inside the palace walls. Her Elizabeth is such a commanding presence - icily august one moment, mournfully human the next

 

[Skydragon]

Royal pain

Mirren and Frears save The Queen.

http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid24097.aspx

 

[Debbies]

I watched the movie yesterday. It's a great movie, very interesting and superbly acted. It isn't a "Diana fest", is a "QE II fest". I would recommend it.

 

[lord_rankin]

The movie makes for a great drama and once the novelty of seeing the inner workings of the monarchy, you are left with a new found respect for her Majesty. I think this movie will be a hit in the US at least.

 

[Oppie]

Helen Mirren will be on The View today

 

[Royal Fan]

Im gonna see it, Goodness I Hope its not one of those "Diana was a Saint The Royals are Evil" Movies I Hope both sides are represented equally.

 

[ysbel]

Im gonna see it, Goodness I Hope its not one of those "Diana was a Saint The Royals are Evil" Movies I Hope both sides are represented equally.

I just saw the film and would highly recommend it; though its really not about the Royal Family or even about Diana.

It really focuses on the developing relationship between Tony Blair and the Queen. The Queen represents the prim and proper British stiff upper lip whose first nature is to sacrifice oneself to one's duty and stoically carry on despite all hardship-steadfastness for her is the noblest virtue- and Tony Blair represents the new energetic Britons that want to modernize Britain, wipe away privilege, and use the media to push its message. They come from two different worlds with very different expectations about what is needed and during the movie they both learn more about each other and they learn from each other, and how the other person really feels.

I think it has to be a very clever dramatisation because I'm not sure the understanding between the Queen and Tony Blair was anything more than on the surface but its interesting how the movie brings these two very different characters together and have them affect each other. At one point, the character who plays Tony Blair feels guilty for bullying or pushing the Queen around to show public grief.

Its the old story of the old traditional ways and the new revolutionary ideas and what happens when the two collide. The one disappointment was that the other characters were cardboard characters - not very well portrayed. Philip is portrayed as an oaf, the Queen Mother as a doddering old fool, Charles appears sympathetic but you don't really get a good sense of him.

Overall, though, it was a very good movie. If you're expecting a more indepth view of the Royal Family or Diana though, that's not what the movie is about. It is, as the title suggests, about the Queen.

 

[Elspeth]

Interesting; I wonder how much more input Tony Blair's side of the story had, since, as you said, he's the one using the media to get the message across. Michael Sheen has also played Tony Blair in a previous Stephen Frears production according to IMDB.

 

[CrownPrinceLorenzo]

Has Helen Mirren played The Queen before? I'm sure she has..

Hmmm, she played Queen Elizabeth I in the movie "Elizabeth I". And now she's Queen Elizabeth II! It's cool!

 

[ysbel]

I wonder how much more input Tony Blair's side of the story had, since, as you said, he's the one using the media to get the message across. Michael Sheen has also played Tony Blair in a previous Stephen Frears production according to IMDB.

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about it from that angle, Elspeth. Was that "The Deal"? I read that the screenwriter, Frears and Sheen had worked together on a previous made-for-British-TV film about the relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown. This time apparently they just added Helen Mirren to their group.

Both Blair and Charles seemed more sympathetic than I imagined them being but it would be interesting if Tony Blair's people themselves made input into the movie especially given how the movie ended.

Towards the end of the movie, the Queen talks to Blair about the people's hatred for her during those days and says to him in a cautionary tone

"one day, suddenly and without warning, the same thing will happen to you."

Considering Blair's current public image, its quite a sobering thought. I'm not sure Blair is that brave.

 

[linda85]

Ysbel,

I just saw the movie today in Dallas, Tx. I must say that I had the same reaction about the comment to Blair about the same thing happening to him. Given the state of politics today in Britain it was very apt and very chilling.

The movie over all was very good. It gives the viewer a good introduction into what the establishment really is. I found the movie quite genuinely sympathetic to the Queen and made the viewer empathize with and for her as sh is genuinely puzzled by the reactions of "her people".

It also amused me when as she is talking with her mother, the Queen Mum, she is talking about handing it over to the next generation when she doesn't get the current people. The Queen Mum comes off with a diatribe about how she should reassert her authority and who do they think they are trying to order Elizabeth around.

This goes against the grain because the Queen Mum was a genius at public relations. She was the person who during WWII said that she could look the East End in the face as the royal couple and Buckingham Palace had been bombed as well.

Charles is portrayed as tentative and weak. He does show his support for the boys and there is a touching scene when he goes to hospital to see Diana in her coffin.
Phillip is portrayed as a buffoon and not the strong individual that I believe that he is. However, they do show him as a support to the Queen even if it is in a negative light.
Sir Robin Janvrin, her private secretary is shown to be a brilliant, in my opinion, manipulator who has just the right touch to get the Queen to do her duty so to speak. He encourages her will just enough humility and graciousness to get the PM's message across. He also at the same time shows the PM where her Majesty is coming from. Very well done film. Alot of dialogue is pure fiction as we don't know what went on behind closed doors and probably won't know any personal information until or when the Queen's, Phillip's and the Queen Mum;'s diaries are made available to the public and biographers.

I would recommend it. It certainly hit me in a postive way and made me think about the inordinate task that a 70 year old woman was asked to do and how she had to come out of her comfort zone. Helen Mirren is amazing and you think she is really the Queen. !!

 

[Skydragon]

I think the thing to remember here is that this is NOT a fact based drama and therefore is unable to give a true impression of how the 'establishment' works.

How The Queen, any of the royal family or Blair felt, acted or spoke at that time, is all in the imagination of the script writer, unless he was a fly on the wall!

 

[linda85]

Sky Dragon,
I think you mis read me. I was trying to say that it gives an impression about how the queens' court is organized, NOT how people actually would talk and make decisions ect. Also I said "Alot of dialogue is pure fiction as we don't know what went on behind closed doors and probably won't know any personal information until or when the Queen's, Phillip's and the Queen Mum;'s diaries are made available to the public and biographers."

So please read my post again carefully. I took this as a criticism and this is my own opinion.

 

[Skydragon]

So please read my post again carefully. I took this as a criticism and this is my own opinion.

This is what you said.
"It gives the viewer a good introduction into what the establishment really is".

It is my opinion that nobody is able to get any introduction into how the establishment works from this work of fiction, but I am sorry that my reply to one section of your post seems to have upset you.

However, I would also disagree with your suggestion that the Queen was puzzled by anyones reaction:-
"I found the movie quite genuinely sympathetic to the Queen and made the viewer empathize with and for her as sh is genuinely puzzled by the reactions of "her people".

 

[Elspeth]

Well, that may be how she's portrayed in the movie. She herself may not have been puzzled by the reaction to Diana's death, but an awful lot of people were so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that she was as taken aback as many of the rest of us by the overt emotionalism.

 

[Skydragon]

Well, that may be how she's portrayed in the movie. She herself may not have been puzzled by the reaction to Diana's death, but an awful lot of people were so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that she was as taken aback as many of the rest of us by the overt emotionalism.

Yes it may be how Helen Mirren portrays her but, horrified is the word that springs to my mind for a real life reaction.

 

[azile]

I saw the movie tonight and agree with Norwegianne's comments. There were, in addition, two poignant moments for me.

The first was when the Queen and RF was at odds with the rest of the world (or so it seemed) with how to respond to Diana's death and the charcter of Prince Charles blurts out to his private secretary that his mother doesn't understand the "two Dianas" (one seen by the public and one, completely unrelated, seen inside their family) He argues that the Queen has to realize that the country is mourning the public Diana (wonderful mother, tireless humanitarian, iconic beauty) and to understand the public grief, they need to mourn this SAME Diana- not the insecure, difficult and volatile Diana they knew privately within their family. He verbalises his belief that there are two identities within a royal life- public and private. The Queen's stance is that the two are the same- the reserved and regal person she is in public is, for the most part, the person she is in private and her private reaction to the whole situation is how she feels she must react publicly. From this, the movie follows the Queen examining her sense of duty within her life/monarchy. Her shock at the response to Diana's death makes her question this sense of duty and her previously held assumption that this duty would ALWAYS be reciprocated by the British people. There is certainly some question about the sincerity of the words she delivered publicly that week but I think the audience, along with the character of Tony Blair, comes to understand and appreciate her on a different level.

I don't want to ruin the impact of the ending for all of you but her final dialogue with Tony Blair is really wonderful and concludes how she has grappled with her sense of duty in a more modern world- and places her importance in history against his. It's charming and very poignant.

Helen Mirren is completely convincing as Elizabeth II and while we'll never know what went through the mind of this woman during that week in 1997, it's a really great look at what it really means to be a monarch.

It's certainly a worthwhile evening's entertainment.

Azile

 

[Skydragon]

Helen Mirren is completely convincing as Elizabeth II and while we'll never know what went through the mind of this woman during that week in 1997, it's a really great look at what it really means to be a monarch.

It's certainly a worthwhile evening's entertainment.

Azile

A very nice summary IMO. It is only the wording in the last section that I find difficult, but, you know what a fussy person I am.

 

[sassie]

Well, that may be how she's portrayed in the movie. She herself may not have been puzzled by the reaction to Diana's death, but an awful lot of people were so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that she was as taken aback as many of the rest of us by the overt emotionalism.

Well, although I haven't seen the film, I would also think the Queen was surprised by the widespread negative reaction to her stoicism. After all, she's been stoic all her life-she's never been an outwardly emotional woman. I'm sure it must have been puzzling to her why, when her stoicism had been acceptable for decades, it was suddenly being criticized.

Personally, I've always admired her steadfastness and her rather solemn facade. It gives weight to her diplomatic and ceremonial roles by exhibiting how seriously she takes those roles. But, we often see glimpses of the warmer private woman, and that's a nice balance.

 

[azile]

A very nice summary IMO. It is only the wording in the last section that I find difficult, but, you know what a fussy person I am.

But that's exactly my point- what does it really mean to be a monarch? That is defined only within the mind of the monarch herself. This movie is about how a monarch sees herself and how a single event challenges that view. It's about how modern expectations confront trandition. And yes- it's about one woman questioning her life-long beliefs of what it means to be a monarch and the reciprocal relationship she always expected to receive from her subjects.

Of course, for all we know, this is 100% fiction. It just a really interesting perspective on a week that most of us remember very well- a week where the monarchy suddenly and unexpectedly was considered distant, cold and irrelevant.

Azile