BEFORE: OK, so I ran out of Meryl Streep films, and I didn't think I had a direct link from "The Iron Lady". I put these two films next two each other thematically, without regard for sharing actors - I thought I'd have to rely on the fact that Jim Broadbent was also in the film "Inkheart" with Helen Mirren (last heard in "Monsters University"). But then in scrolling through the cast lists, I found an actor who was in both "The Iron Lady" and tonight's film, and his name is Roger Allam. Saved again.
THE PLOT: After the death of Princess Diana, HM Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "The King's Speech" (Movie #1,119)
AFTER: Now, see, this is a proper way to structure a biopic. Instead of jumbling up the important moments of Queen Elizabeth's life, or over-using the flashback technique, the film chooses a very important week in the subject's history and narrows its focus. The film can then relate its subject to other time periods by making references to Winston Churchill, King George, etc. and we can extrapolate everything we need to know about the Queen by learning about her personality in a time of crisis.
Plus, I learned more about British government in the first five minutes of this film than I did in the entirety of last night's film. The prime minister is the elected head of the U.K. government, but upon his election he must present himself to the monarch, so that she can "invite" him to lead the country on her behalf. A very polite people, those Brits - one wonders what she would do if he declined?
The time period chosen here includes the election of Tony Blair, the death of Princess Diana, and the Royal Family's reaction to this death, then the public's subsequent reaction to their reaction. The Queen followed standard procedure, considering that Diana was no longer a member of the royal family when she died, and didn't authorize a state funeral, leaving such matters up to her family, the Spencers. However, the public had different ideas about how Diana should have been regarded, and wondered why it seemed like the Queen wasn't giving her death the proper respect.
Proving that it's possible to be right in matters of protocol, but wrong in the eyes of the media and the public. The press probably seized upon the resulting outcry, because it helped deflect any blame being cast at the media itself, for contributing to Diana's death and spreading gossip about her while she was alive. Before anyone could start sharpening pitchforks or wondering why the monarchy still existed in the first place, Blair was able to convince Her Majesty that protocol should perhaps take a back seat to appeasing the populace by at least showing some signs of grief and making a public statement.
It's been a pretty dark year so far in 2015 - both tonight's film and "August: Osage County" center around funeral plans, and "Into the Woods" had some pretty dark moments, with a few characters not making it to the end of that film. Let's hope for some lighter material coming up this week or next.
Also starring Michael Sheen (last seen in "Midnight in Paris"), James Cromwell (last heard in "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"), Alex Jennings (last seen in "Babel"), Sylvia Syms, Helen McCrory, Mark Bazeley, and (archive footage) cameos of Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, and Tracey Ullman (last seen in "Into the Woods").
RATING: 5 out of 10 Corgis
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