The Queen

So in the next two weeks I have two papers due, eight pages of writing, my project pitch and one sheet and my finished project due. So of course I spent the afternoon at a matinee. I've been looking forward to seeing The Queen because of all the hype during awards season.

So if you were living under a rock around the time of the Golden Globes and the Oscars, Helen Mirren was getting mad props for her role as Queen Elizabeth. Everybody predicted she'd win both awards for Best Actress, and she did. Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Peter Morgan, the film is about how the English monarchy and the Prime Minister dealt with the death of Princess Diana. From the trivia section of the film's IMDB page..."The writer Peter Morgan reconstructed the events of the week after the death of Princess Diana through extensive interviews with many unnamed sources close to the Prime Minister and the royal family. Many of these sources were able to corroborate the accounts of others, giving Morgan enough information to imagine intervening scenes."


"Do you remember what you were doing when Princess Diana died?" is this generation's "Do you remember where you were when President Kennedy was shot?". I was watching the television at my in laws when they interrupted SNL or whatever we were watching on Saturday night to announce her death. I remember exchanging shocked looks with my (now ex) husband and looking at the time, it was around 9:30pm Calgary time. I felt a great amount of sadness, and stayed up really late the night of her funeral to watch it. I cried and felt the same outrage towards the Royal Family that the rest of the world felt. This film examines what happened inside the palace during this time day by day from her death until her funeral and why they may have responded the way they did.


Helen Mirren deserves all her props for her portrayal as the Queen. She humanized an international figure and in the end, made her sympathetic. Michael Sheen also deserves some props for his portrayal of newly appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair is confused at the Palace's lack of public response to Diana's death and was instrumental in persuading them to go against tradition to appease the public. A compelling story seen from a different point of view.

More ramblings to come......