Jean-Marc Vallee has taken on a monumental task with his newest film The Young Victoria. He has to create both a time and a place for his actors to achieve their artistic objectives. For the most part, he succeeds.
The story is of Queen Victoria and her assent to the throne. Emily Blunt just becomes Queen Victoria, a woman who is at first out of her element. She has been cloistered, not even allowed to go up and down stairs without an escort. Her mother (Miranda Richardson) and her adviser (Paul Bettany) have designs on the throne themselves. The young princess must deal with treachery by those she is closest to. Once she is crowned, another problem occurs. She is being pushed by everyone to marry. There are all sorts of complications with each suitor, from both the political and the romantic angle.
Eventually she meets Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) a man who has been positioned to win her heart.
The story of The Young Victoria is how a simple young girl takes the reigns of power and how she finds an equal partner to help her rule the people of England. We get a feeling for both the struggles of power and the difficulties being a monarch.
It is hard to imagine that Miranda Richardson is playing the mother of an adult. This former bad girl siren from just what seems like a few years ago has aged into character roles. Here she is half-caring mother and half-ambitious vixen. She comes across not as someone who loves her daughter, she comes across as someone who loves power more.
There is a great struggle between Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany as they move in and around the palace, trying to get the best advantage over the other and over the queen. They each use every means at their disposal to win favor to her Royal Highness, pushing to best the other in every deceitful way.
But The Young Victoria is a showcase for young Emily Blunt. First noticed in the comedy The Devil Wears Prada, she has grown into a strong performer. In the span of a few hours, she has to show naivete, innocence, cunning and spirit all while going from a privileged girl to a strong young woman. Actresses have to wait their entire careers to get a chance and Emily Blunt delivers one of the strongest performances of 2009.
This film is just beautiful to take in. Director Jean-Marc Vallee knows how to fill the frame. Every image on the screen seems placed as if an artistic composition. The cinematography of the work ranks with some of the best ever put on a camera lens.
The weakness of the film comes in the telling of the tale. Academy Award-winning scribe Jullian Fellowes gives us all the details but misses the larger context. The film is of political intrigue but it is missing the dramatic pace. There is no feeling of ‘all or nothing’ in the early reign of Queen Victoria, that ‘life endangering moment’ in the event. The film goes from scene to scene but never moves from start to finish.
What the film loses in terms of story, it easily makes up in visuals. While not a perfect film, it has some perfect moments as it becomes an overindulgent feast for the eyes. The sets are just exact in setting the mood, to the point there they are a character. When our young princess has the crown placed on her head, it becomes a snapshot of history. The clothing, from the simple dressing gowns to elaborate dressing ware become anchors to making the film complete.
While some may find The Young Victoria a little drab, the film does have many more positives than negatives and should get its share of Oscar nominations for 2009.
Jean-Marc Vallee has taken on a monumental task with his newest film The Young Victoria. He has to create both a time and a place for his actors to achieve their artistic objectives. For the most part, he succeeds.
The story is of Queen Victoria and her assent to the throne. Emily Blunt just becomes Queen Victoria, a woman who is at first out of her element. She has been cloistered, not even allowed to go up and down stairs without an escort. Her mother (Miranda Richardson) and her adviser (Paul Bettany) have designs on the throne themselves. The young princess must deal with treachery by those she is closest to. Once she is crowned, another problem occurs. She is being pushed by everyone to marry. There are all sorts of complications with each suitor, from both the political and the romantic angle. Eventually she meets Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) a man who has been positioned to win her heart. The story of The Young Victoria is how a simple young girl takes the reigns of power and how she finds an equal partner to help her rule the people of England. We get a feeling for both the struggles of power and the difficulties being a monarch.
It is hard to imagine that Miranda Richardson is playing the mother of an adult. This former bad girl siren from just what seems like a few years ago has aged into character roles. Here she is half-caring mother and half-ambitious vixen. She comes across not as someone who loves her daughter, she comes across as someone who loves power more.
There is a great struggle between Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany as they move in and around the palace, trying to get the best advantage over the other and over the queen. They each use every means at their disposal to win favor to her Royal Highness, pushing to best the other in every deceitful way. But The Young Victoria is a showcase for young Emily Blunt. First noticed in the comedy The Devil Wears Prada, she has grown into a strong performer. In the span of a few hours, she has to show naivete, innocence, cunning and spirit all while going from a privileged girl to a strong young woman. Actresses have to wait their entire careers to get a chance and Emily Blunt delivers one of the strongest performances of 2009.
This film is just beautiful to take in. Director Jean-Marc Vallee knows how to fill the frame. Every image on the screen seems placed as if an artistic composition. The cinematography of the work ranks with some of the best ever put on a camera lens. The weakness of the film comes in the telling of the tale. Academy Award-winning scribe Jullian Fellowes gives us all the details but misses the larger context. The film is of political intrigue but it is missing the dramatic pace. There is no feeling of ‘all or nothing’ in the early reign of Queen Victoria, that ‘life endangering moment’ in the event. The film goes from scene to scene but never moves from start to finish.
What the film loses in terms of story, it easily makes up in visuals. While not a perfect film, it has some perfect moments as it becomes an overindulgent feast for the eyes. The sets are just exact in setting the mood, to the point there they are a character. When our young princess has the crown placed on her head, it becomes a snapshot of history. The clothing, from the simple dressing gowns to elaborate dressing ware become anchors to making the film complete. While some may find The Young Victoria a little drab, the film does have many more positives than negatives and should get its share of Oscar nominations for 2009.
