Last evening I had the pleasure of escorting my goodladywife out on a movie date. After dropping off my oldest daughter at work and leaving the boys to play video games we were off to see
The Queen.
Lost in a sea of blue rinse we felt like teenagers in an audience that consisted of people who were well into adulthood when Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952.
This was like winning the lottery for someone like myself who would normally eschew movie theatres because of the lack of social skills that movie goers (brutish louts) exhibit these days... during the movie they are chomping popcorn with mouths wide open, WHISPERING LIKE THIS to their friends and chatting on their cell phones, crinkling cellophane, kicking the back of your seat, ugh, you know the drill!
The packed theatre last night was filled with movie goers from the polite era and it was wonderful..although some did bring their own oxygen (honest!) and sitting adjacent to my goodladywife was a quorum of queens who audibly ooh'd and aah'd at the costumes, pageantry, and images of Diana.
My other daughter was actually working AT the theatre and she told us that the management was stunned that this film has packed two theatres for two entire weeks! Now I know why.
Helen_Mirren, was absolutely brilliant and
perfectly cast to portray Elizabeth. Mirren will win the OSCAR. The story itself is a careful examination of the the Royal familys' misstep in gauging the real impact of Diana's tragic death on August 31, 1997. Politics, Sex, and Celebrity are all dissected in this amazing film that combined actual footage of the events that captured the imagination of the world. Michael Sheen's incredible turn at Tony Blair will astound you..seriously.
It was funny, touching, totally interesting...oh blimey,
I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.
This incredible behind the scenes peek at the day to day life of the Queen gave me an entirely new appreciation for her devotion to her subjects. In fact, I hereby recant any anti Monarchist sentiments that I may have inadvertently or blatantly invoked on my blog and sincerely hope that Her Majesty can find it in her heart to forgive my transgressions and one day (soon) grant a Knighthood upon myself and my sons...afterall, Sir Donald, Sir Spencer and Sir Ridley have a nice 'ring' to them.
HA! Don't worry, I will get over my immediate infatuation and return to my less than enamored stance on the Monarchy. The myriad of problems presented by governing a democracy in accordance with Divinely anointed DNA is beyond bizarre. Class Dismissed!
Today however I am in awe of Helen Mirren and the Queen. I loved this old fashioned-character driven-special effects free film. Elizabeth II should thank Helen Mirren for the greatest PR 'save' of her reign, Her Highness can stay on..however, when the time comes, Prince (Modern Man)Charles should save himself from more embarrassment and abolish the whole thing or pass the crown forward to his son William.
I loved Helen in "Calendar Girls".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
Hi teena,
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and good luck fellow nominee.
Tonight is Helen's goodbye as Jane Tennison on PRIME SUSPECT: The Final Act. I have always been impressed...The Madness of King George, 2010,Cook, Thief & Lover, Excalibur!
I knew that she was going to be great in this...and I was right..for a change.
I can't wait!!! Looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteIf you start a rum club, I'll join! Preferably it's a dark rum club ... but no Bacardi's allowed!
ReplyDeleteer.. *curtsy*
ReplyDeleteSir Donald! i am in esteemed company.
I'm surprised that the sea of blue-hairs weren't ALSO WHISPERING LIKE THIS because they forgot to turn up their hearing aids!
ReplyDeleteI read today that Helen Mirren is actually the daughter of Russian aristocracy, so maybe there's some kind of long-disappeared blood tie to the royal family.
As a subject, I don't feel the devotion.
ReplyDeleteShe'll have to try harder.
The Queen? When you mentioned movie date, I instantly assumed you'd see Borat.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the movie. To be honest, I had never heard of it.
And I can't help but wonder if we will never know the definate truth and the whole story behind Diana's death.
Being heir to the throne must be a very weird job... Sitting around waiting for mumsy to die.
ReplyDeleteI went and saw Sandringham once - oh the grounds! And if that's only one of Queenie's properties she's indeed a lucky lass and should be able to put up with doing all those tedious public engagements :).
ReplyDeleteYou should post movie reviews more often. You just convinced me to go see it.
ReplyDeletechristine,
ReplyDeleteIf you have ever wanted to be Queen for a day you should see this. I loved seeing the time capsule that the Royals are trapped in.
teena,
Rum Club hours of operation will be quite different than any Wine Club...after the first hour or so the constitution will be ripped up and the dancing will begin..from then on all bets are off.
andrea,
They weren't whispering because they had probably all dozed off..at any rate they were wonderful.
I know isn't that cool..as you know the 'Germans' as Diana referred to the Windsors were related to all of those other aristocrats...she probably is related somehow.
geoff,
Naturally we Colonials are a bit further removed from the whole thing so it is a little less annoying across the pond. The Royals only show up here every five years or so and rarely in the same Province.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the end of this reign in my lifetime.
anonymouseblogger,
I don't think that there was much of a mystery..the driver was drunk and lost his nerve...I don't think that it was a JFK thing..I am not even sure that JFK was a real conspiracy...I have trouble believing that Lee Oswald was that good of a shot but...apparently he was.
stace,
No kidding. In the film the director explores the strained relationship and poor Charles does not come across as very regal..I don't know how accurate that is...but he has been trapped in the same time warp bubble.
lee,
I walked around Buckingham and wondered what it must be like to have 'everything' done for you..
the thing that this movie details is the price paid for such luxury.
anna,
OK I llike all kinds of movies, usually those with convuluted far out futuristic scenarios, shoot em up uber cop revenge fests, and period piece historical costume parades..however every once and a while a slower dialogue driven charmer like this captures my imagination...by not trying to hard and just letting the story unfold.
sounds like a great movie...gotta watch it then, tnxxx HE!
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
Okay...u made a good case to watch the movie. The whole protocol thing actually makes the royal family nice to look at. But surely I cant forgive anyone for the death of Princess Diana.Maybe the troubles of the real world actually broke trough the doors of the fair tale castles to warrant a change in the system, sooner or later. Diana paid a heavy price for that. Hope in the future, the monarch doesnt stray of course, if it is still relevant.
ReplyDeleteP/s: Malaysia has the only Sultanate in the world!
Yeah, perhaps you're right. Maybe there's nothing more to it. In my defense, I was fairly young when it happened ;) and I won't even comment on JFK. The only things I know about that are from the conspiracy shows they have on TLC every now and then.
ReplyDeleteI saw it a couple of months ago and though the film itself was just passable, H.M. Helen Mirren was a dream!
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether Lizzie wasn't a wee bit jealous!!
keshi,
ReplyDeleteIt's not Titanic or Slevin..it is a quaint little film, but for those of us who grew up having the Queen it is very interesting..I mean we MUST decide what we are going to do about the Monarchy in the next few years. We have been putting it off for decades.
ghosty,
Hey. The idea of the Monarchy is ludicrous..but people love to have identity markers. The goodwill that the Queen Mum had built during WW2 is gone and the Royals are running on fumes. It will be amazing to see if they can survive another 20 years..no matter how innocuous or harmless they seem to some...they cost a fortune!
annblog,
We humans love conspiracy theories because they make life more interesting. We need to slice through them with Occam's Razor..and usually the simplest most obvious explanations are true.
creamster,
Oh I know it is a little slow and dry but I found myself completely involved. It is a political science docudrama but I fell for it.
Maybe this gushing is all because I was surrounded by polite people in the theatre, for a change..hmmm maybe that heightened my senses... because I wasn't busy 'retraining' the idiots who normally distract me from the movie...I am usually fit to be tied at the end of a film and ready to kill all of the selfish little pricks who ruined the movie for me...that's why I don't go very often.
LOVE Helen Mirren, but I wasn't going to see the movie because I hate going to the movie theatre. But if the blue hairs (polite generation - exactly!) are in the majority, I'll go.
ReplyDeleteSomeone owes you a commission HE.
I'm with you on Charles just bowing out or just getting rid of the whole Monarchist system entirely, even though I love the Queen.
laura ELIZABETH,
ReplyDeleteI agree with plans for Charles.
It had been so long since I had sat beside people that could actually keep their cakeholes SHUT during an entire movie...it has given me a new sense of hope for mankind.
Perhaps manners and common sense can be taught to the NEXT Generation of young people since this one is beyond repair.
Hrrumph..we are not amused.
I have always been fascinated with the lives, decisions, those of high power/regard choose to make. They way they live publically is alot different from their personal lives.
ReplyDeleteYou have me intrigued...and I don't go to the movies...but just might venture into the public for this one!
awaiting,
ReplyDeleteThe Queen is a prisoner of convention and even though her gilded cage is quite fabulous and the envy of most it is still a prison...it was interesting to walk a mile in her shoes.
I didn't think that Americans cared about our Royals that much, other than the Kennedys and Hollywood Celebs.
I heard the same report from Alice today. She says you typically don't have the same taste in movies, but you were strongly agreeing on this one.
ReplyDeleteBy the way...is everyone switching to BETA Blogger? Are there problems? Has everyone already done it?
As the self-declared sovereign of Pendragon Hold, I hereby grant you the Grand Order of Mention, for your outstanding ability to mention things concerning Monarchs that do not incite the peasants to rise up and cause problems that we do not wish to deal with while we are contemplating our navels. I would also like to knight you, so please send $19.95 (American, NOT Canadian) as soon as possible so that we can send you a genuine faux parchment declaring your knighthood before our printing contract is revoked due to non-payment. AND, if you act NOW, we will also pay the postage!
ReplyDeletethats good...I like watching stuff like that HE.
ReplyDeletefor the records, I have watched Titanic abt 9 times and cried every time I saw Jack drowning. Sappy me...what can u do!
Keshi.
"By the way...is everyone switching to BETA Blogger? Are there problems? Has everyone already done it?"
ReplyDeleteI have Brian and there was no problem - very smooth.
brian,
ReplyDeleteI fear change. You go first!
aidan,
HA! That is one of my absolute favorite Python lines!
THE michael,
You are very kind. I am deeply moved by your generosity..I am racing off to PayPal to send you the Indulgence.
keshi,
JACK!
JACK!
jack..
jack...
We all cried our eyes out everytime we watched that scene.
That North Atlantic water is sooo cold..Jack would have never lasted long enough to finish his speech...but who cares..WAAAA!
Nekked,
You Cad! She is stoic not insensitive. The British have a stiff upper lip and abhor public displays of emotion...unlike those silly people to the south. My Word!
Ghastly.
laura elizabeth,
Really? It didn't wipe out your archives? What is the difference?
I know that THE michael was brave enough to try...it actually works?
LOL aww u meanie!
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
kesh,
ReplyDeleteOh c'mon I was sobbin' during that scene too..although it would have been cool if a big Great White had snuck up from underneath and BANG chomped him while he was hangin' on...jack..jack...remember how her voice died..j...ja....
omg u r dead!
ReplyDeleteKeshi chases HE ard with a butterfly net.
LOL!
Keshi.
keshtar,
ReplyDeleteNo really!
Can you imagine how people would have screamed if that had happened in the movie..AAAAAAHHH!!!!
That would have been priceless.
I am sorry..that movie is sacred to my daughters too.
Jack...jac..ja..j...
ahhhh now ur talking :)
ReplyDeleteKeshi.
i wanna see that too!
ReplyDeleteKeshtar,
ReplyDeleteWe shall never speak ill of Jack again.
angel,
Go and see it..it's a nice relaxing old fashioned movie. It cleared my palate so that I could watch Scorcese's uber violent The Departed.