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 British movie "The Queen" tracks the seven days following thr death of the Princess of Wales. On au. 31, 1997, the former Princess Diana, who divorced Prince Charles the previous year, died in a car accident involving a paparazzi pursuit.
The film focuses on Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair´s differing reactions to the tragic death. Despite Diana´s breakup with Charles, she was one of the best-loved women in the world. Thus, the public´s grief at Diana´s death was intense.
The Queen, however, didn´t publicly address Diana´s passing. She approached the event with a royal dignity, treating it not as a death in the Royal Family. But many saw this as an insult against Diana and the people who loved her. Meanwhile, Blair, newly elected prime minister at the time, tried to persuade the Queen to show grief along with the people.
Stephen Frears, director of the movie, intends neither to deride the Queen nor to exploit Diana´s death. Instead, what he tries to show through the film is the inner conflict of the Queen to balance her public and private lives. As the film goes on, the audience begins to understand her dilemma even though her attitude hardly changes.
The movie is unique since it treats still living people. Further, the accident occurred only nine years ago. However, what the film actually deals with is a common human situation where balancing the individual´s personalities with the demands of the community is necessary, rather than a specific event. In this respect, the Queen in "The Queen" is no longer a monarch but a human being. | | |
