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This is a story of a unique friendship formed between two very unlike characters: Queen Victoria and her servant Mr. Brown. As the story developed I was completely absorbed by the lives of these two people, as if I was actually part of it rather then watching the film.
Story is incredibly well told (though I do wish filmmakers were not in such a rush to end it), cinematography is absolutely beautiful and as far as the historical part of the movie it was perfectly captured. And then there are actors involved in this movie.
I do not think that my knowledge of English language will allow me to fully describe superb talent of Judi Dench, which by all means is unmatched by anyone alive today. Her performance was absolutely flawless. Academy should be ashamed for not awarding her with an Oscar and choosing Helen Hunt's performance over hers. Not even a contest in my opinion.
As incredible as Judi Dench is I'm sure it is very hard to find costars that will not be completely overshadowed by her. But Billy Connelly filled the screen with his brilliant performance. Perfect chemistry between the two. And of course - Geoffrey Palmer who happens to be Judi's long time costar from BBC's "As Time Goes By" (which I think is one of the best TV comedies of all time). When you get so caught up in a movie that you forget it's not a real life you know that actors are doing an incredible job.
This is an exceptionally well made film, a stunning piece of cinematography. And I think it should be a part of any movie-lovers collection. It certainly is part of mine.
Don't be so sure.
Four years after the death of Prince Albert, to whom Victoria was completely devoted, and for whom she mourned in quite public and dramatic fashion, against the protests of her children and her ministers, John Brown, a favourite ghillie of the royal couple, was brought back into service of the Queen household.
Victoria's favouritism toward him, coupled with his own brash and blunt behaviour, caused him to be envied and disliked by members of her family, her household service, her ministers, and largely by the public. There were parodies of John Brown's activities, done up in the form of mock Court Circulars (the official listing of royal engagements), which appeared in the press on both sides of the Atlantic.
It is unknown if Brown actually kept a diary (the movie speculates such, but also states that no diary was ever found). There was a large black trunk of correspondence found after Victoria's death, between the Queen and her doctor at the time, Profeit, regarding John Brown. This came into the possession of her new doctor, Reid, who recorded 'most compromising' secrets into his green memorandum book. Alas, this book was burned by Reid's son, and the trunk was not found. Did it refer to a secret marriage between Victoria and John Brown, as was often speculated?
This is, in truth, unlikely -- Victoria's devotion to Albert never waned in her life, and there was a certain innocence, lack of pretense and guile in Victoria that the more political and suspicious (particularly in the press) would not have known. Both Brown and Victoria were outraged at the rumours. Brown was a servant who put no stock in class divisions and the artificiality of social conventions -- his familiarity with the Queen (in fact no different from his direct and familiar manner of relating to everyone) was simply his manner.
But then, everyone likes a good, juicy scandal, don't they? So much more interesting than decades of mourning, which makes for rather boring news leaders.
The film takes up the story with Brown's arrival at the royal residence on the Isle of Wight (an inaccuracy, as he was presented at Windsor first). The story is romantic yet reserved, and the cinematography is stunning. From the cloud-cast home on the Isle of Wight to the stately and foreboding Windsor scenes, to the unspoiled Highlands around Balmoral, this film has had great care infused in the details of costume, setting, and atmosphere.
Judi Dench gives perhaps the greatest performance of her life as the Queen, showing real emotion through the Victorian reserve in an admirable fashion (for which she was nominated for the Academy Award, and won the Golden Globe, as best actress). In a really surprising casting, Billy Connolly, best known as a comic, turns in a first class performance as John Brown, the brash Scotsman who becomes completely devoted to his Queen. Geoffrey Palmer, a solid actor known in many BBC productions, plays the Queen's private secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby, who is continually amazed at the liberties taken by Brown (Ponsonby, in reality, saw Brown as a first class servant, and remarked so frequently in correspondence with others). This film was first proposed as a BBC television production, but ended up being so well performed and executed that it was transferred to become a cinematic release.
Given the high profile scandals of the royal family today, this story seems almost timid. But, history does repeat itself, so one can never be entirely sure, until such time as the royal archives are opened to scholars, perhaps a few centuries from now, and the truth may be known to posterity.
This movie was not too far off the mark in terms of hard fact. The death of Prince Albert really did send Queen Victoria into an excessively-prolonged grieving and withdrawal from public duties that began to unsettle the political equilibrium of Britain's constitutional monarchy. And there really was a John Brown, he was Scot, he was in service to Prince Albert at Balmoral, and he became a much-depended-upon personal attendant to Queen Victoria during her widowhood. All these things are accurately reflected in this movie.
So what's my quandary?
Well, the movie just feels wrong "tonally". Some movies about royalty take such liberties with the truth that they become purely dramatic constructs with no pretense to accuracy (and they can be fine entertainment). But when they seem to be conscientious about accuracy, as this movie appeared to be, the standard -- at least for me -- extends to include not just dramatic impact, but realistic portrayal of the complex, burdened, exposed, and heavily-examined lives reigning monarchs lived.
Judi Dench does her usual top-notch job of creating a sense of a character. But is it Victoria's character? Among her family, was she really an unrelentingly dour, domineering, censorious creature capable of opening her soul only to a servant? If her surviving correspondence and the recollections of her vast array of grandchildren peppered all over Europe are to be credited, the answer is no.
While Albert's death admittedly paralyzed Victoria emotionally for too long, she was never as cavalier about the effects of her withdrawal on politics as this movie implies. The monarchy was in a sorry state when she took it over in 1837, with the public and statesmen of the era having thoroughly tired of the spendthrift rake who preceeded her. She (and Albert, after their marriage in 1840) made it their mission to restore the monarchy to respectability and political impact, and Victoria never took that duty lightly.
Billy Connolly also gives us a vibrant character. But was it John Brown's? We know Brown was outspoken and that he stood his ground on occasion with the Prince of Wales and other family and staff members. But being outspoken and resolute is one thing. Being so in as rude and confrontational a manner as possible is something else . . . and something almost inconceivable when dealing with royalty in that era. We know the real John Brown gained the trust, respect, and perhaps emotional attachment of Victoria. But did he really do so by bellowing "woman" at her in front of her court? Highly unlikely. Victoria was a human with personal needs. But she understood full well that she was also the representative of an institution that could survive only if it commanded a certain regal reserve and respect from all.
Paradoxically, this movie is weakened by getting so close to accuracy and then missing on such subtle -- but profound -- points. There was something very complex going on between Victoria and John Brown. In treating their relationship as high melodrama, this movie misses that complexity.
on a character as if it were really her and not acting.
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