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July 02, 2007
DVD Review: "The Queen"
It was probably not the filmmaker's intent, but at the end of this movie, I found myself in complete agreement with Philip who, in a number of scenes, expressed his irritation with the mass hysteria that followed Diana's death.
Watching the news reports the filmmaker skillfully inserted into this film makes me wonder, ten years later, why on earth the world responded with such cloying sentimentality to the death of a woman whose life had little in common with those who were not privileged enough to marry into royalty. Needless to say, I do not look forward to this August, when the media will doubtless spend more time than necessary "remembering" the tenth anniversary of Diana's death.
I've never been a follower of the British royal family and their soap opera existence. I figure a lot of people gave their lives to separate us from them, so it's best to keep a distance. Still, I found myself sympathizing with Elizabeth as portrayed in this movie. The modern trend toward public mourning and gnashing of teeth in times of tragedy has never appealed to my personality. Although I'm an emotional person, I'm not a particularly emotive one and tend to agree with my late grandmother, who thought it was unseemly for people to "vomit their emotions" all over other people.
So I thought this was a great movie. Helen Mirren is amazing as Queen Elizabeth, and Michael Sheen did a good job as Tony Blair. I recommend this movie because it's both entertaining and thought-provoking. Ten years after Diana's death and the outpouring of emotion that followed, it makes you consider those events from a distance, and the public doesn't come off particularly well in the telling.
If you get a chance, this is worth a rental.
Posted by slublog at July 2, 2007 10:32 PM
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Comments
Haven't seen it yet, but from some of the depictions of philip in other reviews, it looks like people are trying to destroy phillip, the only one who isn't harry that I kinda like in the family. . . .Okay, I kinda like Andrew too, but he doesn't count.
Posted by: Wickedpinto at July 3, 2007 03:57 PM