13/02/2008

Film Review: The Queen

It is a pretty original idea to make a feature film about how Buckingham Palace and Downing Street handled the death of Princess Diana - you don't see a movie in which Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth have a row over Diana's character every day. It is a pretty weird idea to make it sort of a comedy. The Life of Brian it is not, but when Tony Blair is rehearsing his speech commemorating Diana, he is donning a Newcastle United shirt with his name on the back. (Blair is known as a Newcastle supporter.) The Queen is quoted as saying that Diana "is even more of a nuisance dead than when she was alive".

The film's acting is excellent. As you may know, Helen Mirren won the Oscar for Best Actress, yet in my view, Michael Sheen as Tony Blair would have deserved it at least just as much - but getting an Oscar for a comic role isn't exactly easy. All other parties involved also did a very good job. If you're looking for something unusual but not too high brow, this is the way to go. (8/10)

P.S.: Natalie, a nice girl like you shouldn't pose like this. (If you work in a very conservative place, this may not be SFW. No nudity, though - sorry, John.)

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