GREAT dream PRODUCTIONS Blog: On The Queen

Sunday, September 24, 2006

On The Queen

Stephen Frears' THE QUEEN is a definite must see if only to marvel at Helen Mirren's breathtaking performance as HRH. Mirren and the cast gobbled up Peter Morgan's screenplay as if it were a bowl of the freshest English Devonshire Cream. Morgan performed extensive research by watching reels of film footage, consulting biographers and through interviews with personal sources who had ties to the Palace and Number 10 Downing Street. The result provides a plausible story based upon what could have happened with what did happen in the hours and weeks immediately following Diana's death.

Mirren remains absolutely fearless on screen in every role she undertakes. Not only in her portrayals but in the choices she makes as an actor. I really thought I was watching HRH with only a few moments of no, it's Helen Mirren's interpretation of the Queen. Mirren deftly gives one of the most poignant performances of her film career.

"Given the iconic status of the Queen, I was terrified," says Mirren."I was probably more nervous about this role than almost any other role I've ever done." To prepare, she researched, watched videos and gathered key cast members at her home to help begin creating "a sense of the Royals as family."

"Of course you also have to get certain things right, the hair, the hands, the stance,the walk, the voice. I had photographs of the Queen in my trailer and watched tapes all the time. It was a bit intimidating, because each time I watched them I would feel I was failing her, failing the inner person and you are constantly trying to get to the inner person," says Mirren.

This brings us to the essence of Mirren's approach to any performance. In her Queen, she explores the depth of human emotion: humor, compassion, sadness, doubt, resignation, leadership, and great strength. We see the depth of Helen Mirren as an actor and the kindness and respect with which she approached the Queen.

"There was one piece of early film, a simple little thing of about one minute of Elizabeth at about 12, getting out of a car and walking forward to shake someone's hand. I found it touching. I watched it over and over. The more I studied her, the more extraordinary she became as a person. She's not like Tony Blair, who's so forward. She's back within herself, but it's not a neurotic place or a confused place, it's a very steady place, quite a confident place. It's a place of incredible self-discipline--and then she steadily comes out from that point and that's the person I was constantly trying to fight my way towards," says Mirren.

We are moved watching the Queen, bound by tradition, pomp and circumstance, as she finally acknowledges that she's lost touch with what the people of her country are thinking and feeling.

The film causes us to reflect on how the life and death of the world's most famous young woman in 1997 forever changed the relationship between the monarchy, the government and the people of the United Kingdom.