The Queen

The British prime minister and the Royal Family find themselves quietly at odds in the wake of a national tragedy in this drama from director Stephen Frears. On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in an auto accident in Paris; despite the controversial breakup of her marriage to Prince ...more

Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," a point Stephen Frears' The Queen makes with the assistance of a superlative script, and pitch-perfect acting. Peter Morgan's screenplay pulls off a fantastic trick by playing up to the audience's preconceived notions about Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) during the film's opening act. The audience is encouraged to laugh at her regal bearing, in large part because Blair finds her as ...more