BECK AT THE MOVIES: 'The Young Victoria'
Confining, but Accurate, Portrait of British Royalty in Tradition of 'Elizabeth'; Three Oscar Nominations
By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Richmond, VA (HNN) -- Here is a romance the way only someone in a position like Queen Victoria's could experience it. The eyes of the empire are watching her every move with not much being kept private or out of speculation. All of this occurs while the young queen must determine how to run her kingdom and who should be around her to help do so.
The film starts with Victoria (Emily Blunt) expressing how she feels her home is a prison. The film quickly flashes forward to her coronation day on June 28th, 1838 and back again to a year before, where the story actually begins. Victoria, who is too young to become queen a this point, is shown being at odds with her mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson), who is supposedly under the power of Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), a man who wants Victoria's mother to become regent so he can control her.
Meanwhile, two men fight for Victoria's affections. There is Prince Albert of Belgium (Rupert Friend), who becomes pen pals later on with her as he goes back and forth between England and Belgium. Then there is Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), Prime Minister of England and close confidant to Queen Victoria. He helps her establish who will be working for her when she first becomes queen and becomes dependent on his advice. The film unfolds with a backdrop of romance and political intrigue.
If you're like me and are not familiar with details of British history, you may find this to be a compelling drama, and by details, I mean not knowing whom Queen Victoria ends up marrying in the end. However, even if you know, you may still find it interesting to see how the conclusion comes about.
Watching each of the two men try to become closer to her is where much of the film's entertainment lies. Prince Albert has been informed of all of Victoria's likes and dislikes, but she soon discovers this after they meet. He tells her that the King of Belgium, Leopold (Thomas Kretschmann), is continually asking him questions about his progress. She even starts to help him with answers regarding these questions.
Lord Melbourne doesn't show his intentions nearly as much as Prince Albert. As Prime Minister, he is always close by to give her advice whenever she needs it, whereas Prince Albert is only in England for short stays before returning to Belgium. At one point, Victoria is so desperate not to lose the relationship she has with Lord Melbourne that she interferes with parliament by making him Prime Minister after disagreeing with the newly appointed one. Now this obviously angers the people who believe that she shouldn't meddle in affairs that are determined by others, but she is young and still relatively new to this whole "being a monarch" thing.
Emily Blunt is fantastic in the title role. She is able to play the young queen as a strong, yet vulnerable woman who is capable of making mistakes just like any ordinary person. Her relationship with her mother has been damaged early on by the controlling Sir John Conroy, so she must turn to other sources for advice on how things should be done, though, throughout the film, we watch as she becomes more self-assured.
"The Young Victoria" recently received three Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, and Best Makeup. It could very well end up taking home all three on Oscar night. The costumes, art direction, and makeup are all simply beautiful and are great at evoking and drawing you into Victorian England.
Some have accused this film of being too confining, which is understandable due to Queen Victoria having a very confined life as a young woman. There is not much that she is allowed to do without the supervision of others. Early on, we find out that she even has to hold someone's hand as she walks down a flight of stairs. If the film is "too confining," it's because it has to be to show how she really lived, and you can't really blame a film for being accurate, can you?
This film is in the tradition of other well-made films about British nobility like "Elizabeth," "The Queen," and "The Duchess" (all Oscar winners). "The Young Victoria" is another one we can add to the list of films that come to make us care about their subject through their hardships in dealing with their everyday life and responsibilities. 3/4 stars.