It is election day in Britain in 1997, and Queen Elizabeth is having her portrait painted while expressing her regrets that she can't vote for members of her own government. She is also concerned about the apparent landslide victory of the modernist Tony Blair for Prime Minister. We then jumps to a couple months later and the death of Princess Diana. The rest of the film details how The Queen and they royal family, as well as PM Blair responded to this tragedy, which turned into an international circus. The film is nicely directed by Stephen Frears from a script by the great screenwriter Peter Morgan. At the center of the film stands Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth who garnered all sorts of praise including an Academy Award, and rightly so. Also excellent is Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, who disagrees with the Queen's response to Diana's death, but respects Her Royal Highness all the same. The Queen is a fascinating film that gets you inside the walls of Buckingham Palace.
***1/2
