Sunday night my son and I went over to the Varsity Theater in Ashland to see the late showing of the Movie "The Queen." I give the movie 5 * our of 5 *. It has not yet played at Tinseltown in Medford at the multiplex theater and it is a shame. It has been showing in Ashland since at least Thanksgiving weekend and is now in the small theater down the alley in back of the main Varsity Theater.
The movie is a docudrama very much like an expanded episode of West Wing. It deals with the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair at the time of Princess Diana's death in an auto accident in Paris. The Queen wants a private funeral and wants to keep a "stiff upper lip" about the whole think. The British public on the other hand are deeply affected by the Diana's death and want a State Funeral. Diana at this point was no longer a member of the Royal Family and technically was not entitled to a State Funeral. The Royal family stays on vacation at their Vacation home in Scotland hunting on the very large estate and the British public is upset by the seeming lack of public sorrow by The Queen and rest of the Royal Family. Tony Blair has just been elected British Prime Minister and has yet to establish much of a relationship with the Queen. His wife and some of his staff are anti Royal. Blair sticks up for The Queen but realises The Queen has made a major PR mistake that could jeopardise the monarchy in the UK and works to turn things around. Prince Charles is sympathetic to Blair's point of view but comes across as a wimp. The Movie is very well done and the actress who plays The Queen is her and should win an Academy Award nomination. The movie could have easy become an anti royal movie about how the monarchy in England has lost touch with the public mood but the movie presents a balanced approach to the crisis. I personally thought both the British Media, public, and the American media and public over reacted to Diana's death. She was a beautiful airhead who gave up her duties as princess to run around the world and became a playgirl. Her death was tragic but not something we needed to dwell on 24/7. On the other hand The Queen was too isolated to fully understand the grief of her people. There were a number of scenes that were very powerful and I will get this movie on DVD when it is released. This movie should be in wider release and hopefully when the Academy Award nominations come out that will happen. Run don't walk to the nearest theater showing this movie.
