The Queen

PG-13

Released Sep 30, 2006

1 hr. 41 min.

Biography

Drama

History

List

97%

204 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Following the death of Princess Diana in an auto accident, Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) struggle to reach a compromise in how the royal family should publicly respond to the tragedy. In the balance is the family's need for privacy and the public's demand for an outward show of mourning.

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Critics Consensus

Full of wit, humor, and pathos, Stephen Frears' moving portrait looks at life of the British royals during the period after Princess Diana's death.

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Leaburn O

Nominated for a Best picture at the Academy Awards. A very strange subject. It's a film about that time when the UK ground to a standstill because a famous character in a soap opera passed away in one of the more memorable episodes. I'm not sure a film re-imagining the other character's reactions to a soap opera event makes for interesting or worthwhile viewing. Saw it on DVD.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/15/24

Full Review

Dinos K

why you had the need to make a biopic about this soulless monster? Lets blow the palace up like V (for Vendetta) did

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Jona I

Despite some of the world-building exposition being on-the-nose, it is a fully-actualized character journey

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/15/23

Full Review

Crey Fish S

Got to love watching movies about the British monarchy for English

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/03/23

Full Review

Adam E

Released in 2006, The Queen is a Stephen Frears film following the British Royal Family's very public reaction (and initial lack thereof) to the death of Princess Diana in 1997. It was a significant hit at the box-office and earned Helen Mirren, who plays Elizabeth II, an Academy Award. Set in 1997, the film focuses on the Royal Family and their butting of heads with the press as well as the public during the aftermath of Diana's shocking death. Soon after the tragic event, Elizabeth II finds herself, and her family, who were vacationing in Scotland at the time of the accident, under pressure to grieve publicly rather than in private. The Queen is portrayed as wanting to follow traditional protocol but protecting the Crown becomes increasingly difficult as she starts being perceived as heartless and unfazed by the death of Diana, whom she was famously not terribly fond of prior to her passing due to her relationship with Prince Charles falling apart. As members of the Royal Family and newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) step in, Elizabeth II is put into a situation where she might just need to bend the rules a little in order to appease the public. By having the film be set at that particular point in time, Stephen Frears attempts to succinctly convey what the Royals are all about through a relatively recent event many of us remember in the hope, perhaps, of peeling off a layer of mystery from the Queen and the people close to her. The idea being to try and paint a picture of human beings reacting to a tragic event rather than distant celebrities with alien lifestyles who have no interest in interacting with their fans. This focused approach makes the film very easy to follow and puts the lead performances themselves on a pedestal, which was certainly a wise move. Indeed, Helen Mirren does an excellent job at portraying Elizabeth II, bringing nuance and emotion to her initially frosty demeanor. The rest of the cast, however, fails to convince quite as much for varying reasons but mostly because casting for biopics is incredibly difficult. Documentary really is the superior biographical tool when it comes to movies for that very reason (and others as well), one would argue. Though the film does tell its story well, it lacks the punch that the director was looking for. Elizabeth II's encounter with an animal who is later, she finds out, killed was partly designed to make us feel for the monarch but there is just not enough there to work with. Frears and his cast humanizes this Royal Family as much as they could but most of that does just come off as fantastical elaborations rather than a sincere portrayal of real people going through real emotions. In the same way that The King's Speech was both a competent, enjoyable film but also ultimately unfulfilling so does The Queen impress in some ways but overall come up short in the drama department. Perhaps going the Citizen Kane route of making a film about a real person but fictionalizing their story through a made-up character might have made for a more interesting film. As it stands, The Queen is a perfectly serviceable biopic. It is better than many, in fact, and those interested in the topic explored in the film should enjoy it fine on the whole. Anyone looking for something a little more substantial may find themselves forgetting most of this one pretty quickly and seeking out fuller, less artificial takes on these, admittedly, interesting events. Fair.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

Joel M

This movie made me want to cry. Bro is deepening it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/08/23

Full Review

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Stephen Frears

Director

Helen Mirren

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Michael Sheen

Tony Blair

James Cromwell

Prince Philip

Helen McCrory

Cherie Blair

Alex Jennings

Prince Charles

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Victoria Luxford

BBC.com

Brilliantly portrays the public nature of Royal life, and the personal side of a figure we all know.

Rated: 5/5

Sep 15, 2022

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

The writing, by Peter Morgan, is pitched perfectly — pathos and an empathy for the tragedy of the situation is matched by the elegant wit and well-observed humour of the piece.

Aug 30, 2022

Full Review

Namrata Joshi

Outlook

Makes for engaging and entertaining viewing. Not just the subject, it's also the interpretation and storytelling that one closely identifies with.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 25, 2019

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Helen Mirren, acting royalty in her own right, earned a well-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II...

Sep 10, 2022

Full Review

Sarah McMullan

Stuff.co.nz

As always, Mirren is superb as a woman who believes her motivations are beyond reproach, as Queen and that protocol justifies everything.

Dec 29, 2021

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Creative Loafing

The Queen feels like a classic women's picture with a 21st-century media-age makeover.

Jan 28, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Following the death of Princess Diana in an auto accident, Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) struggle to reach a compromise in how the royal family should publicly respond to the tragedy. In the balance is the family's need for privacy and the public's demand for an outward show of mourning.

Director: Stephen Frears
Executive Producer: François Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Scott Rudin
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Pathé Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $56.4M

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