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3. When the Queen mourns the stag's death, what is she really grieving? Who or what does the stag potentially symbolize to her
4. When the Queen finally visits the display of flowers and letters people have left outside the palace, what happens between her and the people? What does this event do for the Queen? What does it do for the public
5. Do you think the Queen was right or wrong to finally make a televised statement about Diana's death? Do you think she truly meant what she said in the statement?

There's hardly anything to offend younger viewers, but trying to get them to sit through and hour and a half of interpersonal conflict and national tension might be a stretch. We do see a decapitated stag hanging from a ceiling after a hunting scene. And we are talking about the death of two young boys' mother. Extramarital affairs are discussed briefly.

Photos © Copyright Miramax

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There aren't many directors capable of doing what Steven Frears has done so far in his career—a wide array of memorable films which have spanned many subjects in strikingly different contexts, genres, and styles. From sumptuous period pieces like Dangerous Liaisons and Mary Reilly to the hip crime caper The Grifters, small-scale comedies like The Snapper and The Van, troubling thrillers like Dirty Pretty Things, and hip comedies like High Fidelity, he's one of the most versatile directors working today.

But The Queen may be the movie that takes him into the winners' circle at the Oscars. Frears' focus on goings-on within the House of Windsor in the days just before and immediately following the death of Princess Diana is revealing and convincing. And his fictional speculation lets us see the world through the eyes of a woman who lives according to the customs and concerns of a bygone era—Queen Elizabeth II.

While the film serves to inspire sympathy for the Queen's perspective, it also inspires us to appreciate one of the greatest actors working today. Frears will likely earn a nomination for his direction, but at this stage in the game it looks like Helen Mirren is the front-runner for the Best Actress award.

My full review is at Looking Closer.

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) raves, "Stephen Frears directs beautifully, and even if Peter Morgan's script is mostly speculative, what we see on-screen plays convincingly, just as anyone who followed the proceedings at the time might have imagined. … [A]s a fascinating chronicle of conflict between time-honored tradition and the encroachment of modernity, as exemplified by Blair, The Queen makes compelling drama of a high order."

Mainstream critics are praising Frears—as usual—and heralding her highness.

from Film Forum, 11/16/06
J. Robert Parks (Framing Device) says, "In [Helen] Mirren's hands, Queen Elizabeth becomes not exactly a sympathetic figure but at least one who's more fleshed out than the tabloids and talk shows made her out to be. And Mirren does this with perfect subtlety: an arched eyebrow here, pursed lips there, a simple pause as she speaks or picks up the phone. If this performance doesn't have Academy Award written all over it, I'm not a good prognosticator."

from Film Forum, 11/30/06
Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus) says the film's portrayal of Britain's royalty "is fascinating and one that will raise both feelings of sympathy and sadness. … The Queen reminds us to be careful what you wish for when you want to 'live like a queen.'"

from Film Forum, 02/01/07
Christopher Lyon (Plugged In) calls it "a quiet, profound, and even gently amusing film that accomplishes the unlikely. It builds empathy for an emotionally distant monarch and a (currently) buffeted politician by following them through a difficult week. … Morgan and Frears could easily have turned the royals into a kind of a joke, exaggerating their out-of-touch comments and mannerisms for comic effect. Instead, they play every character with great restraint and even with what you might call affection, allowing their biggest revelations about the nobility and banality of a monarchy in the modern age to be discovered in the smallest movements."

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