Synopsis: Teenager Victoria meets the love of her life and becomes Queen of England.
Release Date: December 18, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Biography, Romance
Film Review
Production
The familiarity we have with certain Queens of England leaves little left to be explored in cinema. There is one Queen we have yet to meet during her rise to power, Queen Victoria. Be prepared to welcome her story, with its deep romance and familial drama, to the line of films on British Royalty. With a modern flare to the dialogue, that is a great relief from the stuffiness you can find in period pieces, the film immediately engages us with the teenage Victoria. We watch as she is made Queen but must fight for the right to actually be Queen by breaking free of those in her world who would try to stifle and control her life. Dealing with being a teenage Queen is the least of her worries as she also falls in love. This is not an arranged marriage form of love, or one of convenience. It is an honest and true romance between two people who both have responsibilities larger than themselves. It makes for an engaging long distance romance and even though we may know how it all turns out in history it is a pleasure to watch the romance unfold on screen. The two alternating story lines intersect on occasion leaving a large amount of space for Victoria to discover herself before giving her life to another offering a great independent heroine who just happens to find love while finding her own way at the same time.
Acting
As the sheltered Victoria Emily Blunt gives a performance that is incredibly simple and refined. She easily embodies the mannerisms, the naivete, and the underlying strength of a girl/woman such as Victoria. She is not meant to be vulnerable but she is in secret, be it through the ways her eyes glance down for a moment or how she looks reading a letter from Prince Albert. When she must perform and represent an entirely different person is seen. Strong and independent yet still youthful and delicate. Victoria becomes through Blunt a person we want to explore and learn more about. She is a historical figure that never feels out of reach for the viewer for Blunt gives her likability and honest emotion. Two things needed to bridge the gap between the past and the present, the Royal and the everyday (wo)man.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Jean-Marc ValleeMartin Scorsese
- Producer(s): Julian FellowesEmily Blunt (Victoria)
- Screenwriter(s): Rupert Friend (Prince Albert)Paul Bettany (Lord Melbourne)Miranda Richardson (Duchess of Kent)
- Story:
- Cast: Jill BilcockMatt GarnerHagen BogdanskiPatrice Vermette
- Editor(s): Sandy Powell
- Cinematographer: Ilan EshkeriFake Studio
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: USAUK
