The Queen

A film directed by Stephen Frears in 2005

Written assignment:

Write an essay (700-1000 words) in which you make a portrait of either Queen Elizabeth or Prime Minister Tony Blair, based on the way the character is depicted in the film. Your essay should also include a brief characterization of either Prince Philip or Cherie Blair.

You may use any of the elements of ‘cinematic technique’ and/or ‘theatrical elements’ in support of your portrayal of the characters, using the document ‘Film analysis’.

The character I have chosen to portray from Stephen Frears movie, “The Queen”, is Queen Elizabeth who is conflicted and under pressure due to the high pressure from her people, who wants to see her respond and show grief for the sudden death of Princess Diana.

The Queen

Queen Elizabeth is the main character in the movie and from the start we get a first impression of her as her majestic and dominant character as shown in the scene where she is in official outfit, while her personal painter paints a picture of her. This impression changes shortly after when she starts discussing why she can’t vote, and wishes she could be partial just once in her life, here she shows a side of a round character and steps away from the stereotypical view of a Queen, who is opinion less and shows inclination of superiority, in this scene she shows humanity and when the camera pans in for a close-up you can see her, otherwise very tight face give a little smile as she speaks with her painter. This scene sets the Queen up to be a very interesting and dynamic character.

When the queen meets the film’s other main character, new elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, she puts on a face to show the Prime Minister who is in charge and implies that he is not the only Prime Minister she has had to counsel, and according to the constitution it is her job to warn, guide and advise the government. She wants to show him that The Queen is not only for show but can be a valuable asset to the Prime Minister. She is not someone he can push around and she is a person with power and experience.

When all hell breaks loose and Princess Diana dies in a Car accident in France, the Queen acts very cold and when the Prime Minister ask her if she wants to make a statement or a public funeral, she replies with anger in her voice and says that she thinks Diana already had been pressured and chased by the press and wants to respect her and the Spencer family, and set a private funeral. The Queen’s Character arc starts to change and she is slowly starting to be conflicted and doubtful, was it really the omnipresent press that killed Diana or was she driven away by her own family?

The queen’s compassion and lighter side comes to show when she at all costs, wants to remove her grandchildren from the media and removes all papers from the Balmoral residence. She does not want her grandchildren to be pressured and hunted by the media as their mother was.

Her conflicted and troubled side really comes to show when her car shuts down in the middle of a river at the Balmoral residence. Here she sees a beautiful stag and is impressed by its beauty and majestic appearance. She wants it go away so the stag won’t be shot by the hunters, her grandsons, who are tracking him. I think the Queen sees the stag as Diana but also as herself, the stag is stalked, as was Diana by the media and the Queen by the public who is condemning her actions at this time. The way she tries to save the stag, indicates that she maybe acknowledges she should have dealt with Diana with more sensitivity while Diana was alive, or she is trying to save her own position as monarch.

As the pressure grows heavier because of the Queen’s absence, she finally decides to go out in the public and show support. She fears the people see the monarchy radically different than before Diana’s death. When she finally goes out and sees the flowers at Balmoral she realizes that even though she had badly misunderstood what her people had expected of her, they cherished and loved her presence.

After her experience at Balmoral, she goes out and makes the long anticipated statement concerning Diana’s death and she shows her people that she cares, maybe not wholeheartedly but she gives them what they want and shows the compassion that they need. This show just how much the Queen evolves during the movie and turns out to be a dynamic character, who grows as the story unfolds, and has a interesting bending character arc. The way Helen Mirren portrays the character and catches the essence of Elizabeth as a Queen, who isn’t condescending, overly arrogant and stereotypical gives the character immense depth and required strength and even though you doubt it at times, she turns out to be the protagonist.

Brief characterization of Cherie Blair.

Cherie Blair is a woman who knows what she wants and does not hold back her opinions on any matter, several times during the film she indicates that a modernization of the monarchy would be nice and wants her Husband, the Prime Minister, to take advantage of the situation and put him in a position of favouritism. She believes that the Queen is heartless and thinks the Royal House was partially to blame for Diana’s death. Cherie Blair is portrayed as a fierce anti-monarchist but is also, as her husband, down to earth and a family person. Cherie Blair’s minor role in the movie, also make her seem like a rather flat character and she seems to have a static opinion through the events of the movie.