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Rating:
Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," a point Stephen Frears' The Queen makes with the assistance of a superlative script, and pitch-perfect acting. Peter Morgan's screenplay pulls off a fantastic trick by playing up to the audience's preconceived notions about Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) during the film's opening act. The audience is encouraged to laugh at her regal bearing, in large part because Blair finds her as humorous yet intimidating as they do. As the film progresses, however, a remarkable shift occurs. Slowly but surly, the queen becomes a character that earns sympathy from the audience. Because of Stephen Frears' observant, never intrusive camera, the audience begins to understand her even though her behavior and her attitude hardly change. Frears is one of the few directors of his era to have worked extensively on television productions, and his natural ease with close-ups of actors' faces and his patience with his characters reveal that he has learned what elements of television work best on the big screen. Mirren herself is flawless in the part. She exudes authority as if it was her birthright -- as good a definition of playing a monarch that has reigned for five decades as could be imagined. That authority and command compel not only the other characters but also the audience to pay attention to her every gesture. Michael Sheen offers her pitch-perfect support, allowing viewers to feel justified in having their preconceived notions of the queen melt away, even as they recognize how difficult a person she would be to work with. Marvelously economic in every respect, The Queen offers a simple but profound example of why modern politics and public relations suit people of a certain temperament much better than others. Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide




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