Helen Mirren turns in an Oscar-winning performance as the Queen in Stephen Frears's critically acclaimed, sharp, witty, pertinent and highly successful biopic about the British monarch. The film focuses on events in the wake of the death of Princess Diana.
It would have been easy for The Queen to turn into a satire, but Frears avoids this. Keeping things fairly straight, to the point and with some humour, he allows events to unfold - sometimes using archive clips - as he examines the interaction between the monarch and the then prime minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen). Mirren is very convincing and quite superb in the lead role, and there's fine support from James Cromwell as the Duke of Edinburgh, Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother and Tim McMullan as Alistair Campbell.
Worth watching.
Did you know? Helen Mirren apparently arranged for the actors who played members of the Royal family to spend time together off camera to foster a real family spirit.
(4 Star)
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