Movie Review - "The Queen"

I finally got out and saw the movie "The Queen" today. I've been meaning to get out and see it ever since I read about it in one of the royalty magazines I read. The movie is about Queen Elizabeth II and the week of Princess Diana's death. It tells the story of a lot of things that happened behind the scenes and out of the public eye. It's a fascinating movie in that we get to see a lot of maneuvering behind closed doors and the difference of values between generations as well as the enormous hype the press did on Diana's death. The British public took some of their grief and frustration over Diana's death out on the Queen. The public blamed the royals for the ostracism of Diana not realizing that Diana didn't want to play by the rules and so caused some of the ostracism herself. We see how the royals were frustrated by the two personas of Diana. The public persona was one of a princess who was very caring and supported a number of worthwhiled causes. The behind the scenes persona was of a princess that didn't want to play by established protocol and upstaged her husband Charles who was the whole reason she became the celebrity she became. If Diana had never married Charles, she never would've become the figure she became. There is no question Charles did Diana wrong in not giving up his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles but, in royal circles it would've been expected that Diana would've turned a blind eye to it and carried on. She refused and took the relationship to the public doing damage to the royal institution. Public opinion ignored Diana's lack of loyalty to the royal institution and instead saw her as something of a saint and victim. To make matters worse, the press were quick to seize on the lack of a response from Buckingham Palace as this helped sell more papers. It didn't matter to them that their stirring things up could've harmed the monarchy. Fortunately, we see how the Queen managed to calm things down in a speech. Time helped things further. Two months after the crisis week, the issue was no longer an issue. The Queen survived the crisis and moved on though undoubtedly stunned by what had happened.

Overall, I thought the movie "The Queen" very well done. It was fascinating to see all the moves that went on behind the scenes. The movie is definitely one for adults. I think kids would find it boring and wouldn't understand what all the fuss was about concerning Diana's death. Another reason the movie appealed to me is because I'm a bit of an anglophile. I love England and find it a beautiful and fascinating country. London still remains my favorite city. If you're a fellow anglophile, I think you'd find the movie fascinating in that regard. If you want to see the movie, you may have to hunt for it as the number of theaters showing the film is dropping. I guess the newness has worn off and other new movies are coming out. Still, the movie is one that might be worth looking for. If you're an anglophile or are simply fascinated with the British Monarchy then you'll want to see "The Queen."