A Regal Performance
A Brilliant, Humanizing Look at Queen Elizabeth II
by James Riswick

Helen Mirren has been nominated for Golden Globes for playing queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II in the same year. That's pretty cool. Trivial minutiae aside, Mirren's delicate portrayal of Britain's sitting monarch is layered and worthy of the praise she's been garnering. In the wake of Princess Diana's death, the queen is torn between generational differences, royal tradition and the grief of both family and nation.

Mirren brings life, compassion and even humor to a woman everyone has seen, but few truly know. Michael Sheen is not only a spitting image of Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he does an excellent job of representing the man who delicately served as a conduit between the Queen and her people, who she discovers she's out of touch with. The rest of the cast portrays real-life people in complex, realistic ways—there are no villains, nobody is demonized as they were by the press and public during the actual events.

The House of Windsor's seemingly cold, emotionless reaction is shown to be the result of wanting to stay quiet out of respect for princes William and Harry (Diana's sons) and the former princess' family. There is also a simple generational and royal tradition disconnect between the Queen and her people. The royal flag has never flown at half staff for anyone, not even the Queen's own father, King George VI, so why should it be lowered for a woman who was no longer royalty?

Anyone who remembers the fateful days after Diana's death in 1997 will have an emotional tie to this film. It sheds light on the behind-the-scenes events with a very fair and excellent acted portrayal of real-life figures.

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