The Queen (2006)

Rating:
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Helen Mirren, James Cromwell, Michael Sheen

Up front, it’s got to be said: A movie about Queen Elizabeth’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana? This is what the world needs in its multiplexes? While it may seem a crime that Stephen Frears’ thoughtful character study may swipe a couple screens from “Man of the Year” and “Open Season,” it is in fact a remarkable film, and a compelling one. This is due entirely to the fact that Helen Mirren is to acting what nuclear fission is to North Korea: practically the only reason to pay attention to a subject otherwise mired in irrelevance, self-indulgence and a thorough disassociation with reality.

The plot summary, based on the actual events: In late August 1997, just as Tony Blair was moving into 10 Downing Street, Princess Diana died in a Paris car wreck. England went into traumatized mourning deeper than anyone could have predicted, while the royal family — Diana’s estranged former inlaws — offered no public reaction at all. As resentment toward the royal cold shoulder built into a monarchical crisis of public opinion, young Mr. Blair intervened with the Queen until finally the House of Windsor made a public demonstration of something like humanity.

The story takes place entirely within the royal family and Blair’s office, and beyond the framework of public events, everything is fictionalized. The royal family is seen as emotionally detached and enmeshed by protocol — Diana, having divorced, was no longer a member of the family, thus no public statement was seen as necessary. The more populist Blair struggles to get the queen more in line with public sentiment.

Again, it all comes down to Mirren. She has always been an amazing actress, one with a very eclectic resume, and here creates a Queen Elizabeth that is endlessly fascinating without doing much. “Dispassionate reserve” is hardly the easiest thing to make compelling on screen, but Mirren is hypnotic with the merest glance or frown. Mirren, and Peter Morgan’s excellent script, balance the image of an ossified and irrelevant monarchy with a queen who has dedicated her life to serving a throne she’d never really expected to inherit, and initial disapproval of her Old World reserve at Diana’s death melts to sympathy through Mirren’s performance.

The film has other nice touches — real news footage of the outpouring of grief is used, and Diana herself appears only through real news clips and, very briefly, with a lookalike rushing into the fateful car. That and a scrupulous decision to never portray her two sons make for a surprisingly respectful presentation of one of the biggest media events of the past couple decades. Frears’ direction can often be a bit stylized, but here, other than the masterful weaving of real footage, the director seems absent in that ideal way: The movie seems to simply happen onscreen without artifice.

Bottom line: “The Queen” would be an easy film to overlook — it ain’t sexy, and the only car chase happens off-screen. But if you want to see what acting is supposed to be like, and want to be one film ahead when award season rolls around, don’t miss it.