HairyLime Blog

Under discussion:

The Queen  (2006)

Last night watched a 'British Royalty' double feature. We had just received 'The Queen' the other day in the mail from Netflix, and I noticed that 'The Madness of King George' was also available on our 'in demand' listing from our local cable company, so sat down with both Monarchs yesterday evening. Both films were similar in the way they both touched on the idea of the 'Monarchy in decline', and both handled their subjects in less of an Awestruck manner, instead touching on the more down to earth humanity of these poor clowns trapped in a positions of power (well, sort of) simply by the accident of their birth.

Nigel Hawthorne gives a marvelous performance, truly moving at times, of a man who has just enough grasp on his sanity to be aware of how it is slipping away, and just enough presence of mind to pull off a reasonable semblance of normality in order to reclaim his throne when it was in danger of being snatched from under him. Helen Mirren also appears in this film as his wife, and while she gives a fair performance, I felt her (German?) accent had a habit of appearing and disappearing from scene to scene. From time to time the film slipped dangerously close to parody, but usually was able to pull back from crossing the line. Both an intriguing political intrigue drama, and a fascinating look at the 'medical profession' of 230 years ago. (I love the doctor who is obsessed with 'the king's copious well formed stools')

Jump forward a couple hundred years to Elizabeth II, and the farce that surrounded the (former) Princess Di's funeral and the Queen's seeming reluctance to properly show the due respect. Despite the fact that I have nothing but contempt for the whole 'Royal Farce' and the pointlessness of continuing the Monarchy well past its expiration date, you really come away from this movie with a newfound respect for Queen Elizabeth, and a equally newfound contempt for modern society and the madness of public spectacle, where any bozo who's 'In the Public Eye' is treated like royalty, and the sheep-like public is whipped into a frenzy by the wankers of the press and little whippersnappers like Tony Blair. I didn't really pay that much attention to the whole 'Di' funeral, but I do remember having to suppress the gag reflex when Elton John reworked 'Candle in the Wind' and sang it at her funeral. At least there are a few people, regardless of whether they are over-priviledged leeches like the Royal Family, who still have a scrap of dignity, and a touch of backbone.

Was thinking about these two films, and one I watched a month or so ago about Henry VIII, and was wondering how many British Monarchs there have been movies made about, and with the help of the internet, I found a useful listing, which I have edited down for a 'Royalty Festival of Film'. I have not bothered with movies in which Royalty make an appearance (such as Judi Dench's supporting oscar role of Queen Elizabeth I in 'Shakespeare In Love), and mostly concentrated on films in which the King or Queen is the main thrust of the film.

King Arthur: You have a choice between Richard Harris singing (?) in 'Camelot', Nigel Terry in John Boorman's 'Excalibur', or my personal favorite, Graham Chapman in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'

Alfred the Great - in the movie of the same name starring David Hemmings

Henry II - The wonderful Peter O'Toole in 'Lion in Winter' (reviewed recently here in this filmblog)

Richard I & King John - Adventures of Robin Hood (well, broke my own rule for this one, but I just like the good old hokey fun of this Errol Flynn classic)

Edward I & II - Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart'

Henry V - you have a choice between Laurence Olivier or Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptation, I prefer the more action packed latter version.

Richard III - a little unorthodox, but Ian McKellen's fascist retelling of the Shakespeare play is fun to watch

Henry VIII - a whole bunch to choose from, Robert Shaw in 'A Man For All Seasons', Richard Burton in 'Anne of the Thousand Days' (recently reviewed in this filmblog), or Charles Laughton's 'The Private Life of Henry VIII'

Lady Jane Grey - Helena Bonham Carter in 'Lady Jane'

Mary I & Elizabeth - The recent 'Elizabeth' with Cate Blanchett, or if you prefer Bette Davis, she's appeared in a couple different movies as this monarch. And Glenda Jackson in a BBC miniseries 'Elizabeth R'

Charles I - Alec Guinness in 'Cromwell'

George III - 'The Madness of King George'

Victoria - "Mrs. Brown" - Judi Dench

Elizabeth II - 'The Queen'

Haven't seen all of them, and the list isn't complete by any means (look them all up yourself if you are more obsessive than me), but these would make for an interesting film series, I'll be bound.

Under discussion:

Children of Men  (2006)

I was very impressed with this movie, once it got moving. Some absolutely incredible cinematography throughout, with a gritty cinema verite feel that gives it a sense of immediacy, even though it is set 20 years in the future. I like a science fiction film like this, that drops you into a world with very little preamble, and instead of handing all the changes to you on a plate, the changes are doled out in small quantities along the way, as if you are physically dropped into this futuristic world and it is up to you to figure out what is different and what is the same simply by observing your surroundings. Unfortunately, that same attribute got in the way of lending power to what was supposed to be a major plot turning point early in the film. I don't think nearly enough time was spent explaining what the impact of a world without children would be like prior to the scene where the young girl presents herself to the hero as being pregnant, which deflated the power that scene could have had.

Some interesting extrapolations on how a world of rampant terrorism and oppressive 'homeland security' can lead to a world where (as the old adage goes) "you wouldn't want to bring children into". Also interesting were the depictions of the 'radicals/terrorists/freedom fighters/resistance' group and the 'establishment/police/oppressors', neither portrayed as wholly evil or good, but rather using the cloak of 'high ideals' to mask and rationalize their own personal misguided goals, revenge, bloodlust, or thirst for power.

My favorite scene happens near the end where the newly born baby is paraded down the stairs of the under-siege apartment building, and the fiercely raged battle comes to an abrupt stop while everyone marvels at the miracle of the child, past the armed rebels, past the heavily armored militia, and just when you're thinking that the 'miracle baby' will cause all strife to end, BOOM a missile is fired, and everyone abruptly goes back to business as usual. Depressingly cynical, but pretty true when you take into account that millions of these miracles occur every day, and the slaughter continues unabated.

Nice adaptation of the PD James novel, although I miss the part in the book where there is a fad where old ladies carry little dolls around with them, and fuss over them, wheeling them around in carriages, but I suppose visually, that might confuse things in a film.