The Queen
The basic synopsis of this film, is that it revolves around the week that Princess Diana died, showing a fictionalised version of how the palace and Tony Blair both dealt with those days. Michael Sheen plays Tony Blair, and Helen Mirren plays the Queen. All the cast members played their roles very well though, but those two are the ones that I remember the most vividly.
I wasn’t sure whether I would like this, before I watched it, because although I think Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen are great actors, I don’t really like Tony Blair as a person, well judging by his public persona anyway. However I was pleasantly surprised, because I actually warmed to Blair, he was portrayed as a more pleasant person than I was expecting, and maybe my opinion was changed slightly because of my opinion of Michael Sheen, he’s always come across as a nice person to me, in interviews and things.
It’s a incredibly well acted film, and brought back a good deal of memories from those few days. I remember clearly the moment that it was first announced that Princess Diana had died, as my mother burst into mine and my sister’s room, and told us, but we thought that she was trying to be funny somehow. It was Rachel’s birthday, but I don’t recall what we did to celebrate that day, I just remember all the footage from London, showing how upset so many people were.
I found it fascinating seeing what could have possibly have been said behind closed doors at the palace, showing the royal family in a more human light, a normal family with failings and arguements, in the midst of a troubling week, dealing with a confusing mix of feelings towards the former Princess.
I also liked the hint about how palace protocol, when the new prime minister asks for the Queen’s permission to make a parliament. It was nice to see that Cherie Blair might not had the highest respect for the monarchy either, clip uploaded by aleladebirali.
Musings of a thirtysomething woman 