The Queen

From the desk of The Movie Snob

The Queen (B+). Director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Grifters) brings us this quasi-documentary about what went on behind the palace during the week after Princess Diana's death in 1997. You may recall that the Brits went into a paroxysm of grief that quickly morphed into anger towards the royal family because it showed virtually no public sign of mourning. Helen Mirren (White Nights, Gosford Park) does a splendid job as Queen Elizabeth. She is a tragic figure, a woman who has given her whole life to her people and then gets vilified for maintaining the stoic facade that she believes they expect from her. (Of course, that stoicism was easy to maintain since the royals really couldn't stand Di.) Michael Sheen (Kingdom of Heaven, Underworld) does a fine job as newly elected Tony Blair, whose anti-monarchical instincts come up hard against grudging admiration for the Queen. Definitely worth seeing.