God Save the Queen....

...and all bow (and/or curtsy) before Helen Mirren. In The Queen, now in theatres, she wears the royal mantle with aplomb. Her recent turn as Elizabeth I on HBO (If you haven't seen it, rent it!) earned her an Emmy; no doubt, the awards will come calling again for her turn as Great Britain's currently reigning monarch. I saw it yesterday and was amazed.

The film begins on the day of Tony Blair's election as Prime Minister in the summer of 1997. Soon after, "people's princess" Diana is killed in a Paris car accident and Her Majesty Elizabeth II and her Prime Minister are thrust together and their relationship formed in the unexpected aftermath of Diana's death. As history (though obviously painted in broad brushes), the film is interesting. Where it becomes truly masterful is the way it examines the relationships and lives of the individuals involved.

The Queen is a fascinating look at the day-to-day lives of the members of the longest-reigning monarchy in Europe. Certainly, it is interesting to observe their actions and reactions at this historic time, but even more compelling is the detail brought to the royals and their bizarrely mundane existence. Yes, Queen Elizabeth wears her double-strand pearl necklace and dynastic diamond brooches, but she also sports a pink robe that can only be described as "fuzzy." Prince Philip affectionately calls her "cabbage." Her Majesty drives her own battered LandRover (Prince Charles asks her at one point when she is going to get rid of the tired old thing) and brings Tupperware containers of lamb stew to a picnic lunch on the grounds of Balmoral Estate.

It is through these details that we learn more about the royal family and their relationships. In a profound way, the movie is about family. The royals are compared to the younger and populist Blair clan. The Queen, as matriarch of the empire, struggles with how to comfort her larger national family while simultaneously working to help her grandsons through the loss of their mother. Prince Charles pointedly contrasts Diana's warm physical relationship to the one he has with his own parents--a point underscored in one scene when Charles stands next to his father. Philip grumpily acknowledges his existence and promptly crosses his arms. (This is, after all, the man who works to help his grandsons grieve by organizing hunting outings for them every day in the week after Diana's death.) And the Queen Mother is an old-fashioned (almost doddering) character that the Queen still turns to when she needs advice on her royal duties from "Mummy."

The Blair family stands in contrast to the Windsors. Tony and Cheri Blair trade differing opinions and bicker affectionately while the royals unifiedly tow the party line. The palace interiors with their meticulously maintained antiques and priceless art are set against the family chaos and kids' drawings hung on refrigerators at 10 Downing Street. Ultimately, it is the intersection of these different generations and family styles in the person of the Queen and the Prime Minister that makes the film what it is. In this collision, interesting alliances are formed. A surprisingly sympathetic Prince Charles, devastated at the loss of Diana, stresses his "modernity" to the Prime Minister, and with the Queen's Private Secretary, they work subtly (and not so subtly) to convince the Queen to abandon her stoicism and connect with her people. While Blair favors the modernization of England, he also betrays his traditionalism in lashing out at staff members who fail to recognize the sacrifices Her Majesty has made for the nation.

And, it is, despite Princess Diana's very real presence in news footage, a movie about these two people. Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair. A monarch who has reigned almost as long as the politician has been alive. Diana's death becomes the prism through which they observe and learn about each other. And both are portrayed brilliantly. Michael Sheen captures Blair's youth and optimism (at one point, he wears a rugby shirt as he speaks to Her Majesty by phone), but also his admiration for and loyalty to the Queen. He is both worthy foil and honorable opponent to the Queen's reliance on traditions which ultimately undercut her effectiveness. Remarkably, it is the damaging poll numbers he delivers that finally help to sway Elizabeth--she who maintains that she best knows the temperament of her subjects.

Helen Mirren is simply spectacular. By the time the last twenty minutes of the movie arrive and Queen Elizabeth delivers her tardy tribute to Diana on live national television, she has so assumed the character that it almost appears to be actual footage of the actual speech. Mirren captures all sides of an iconic figure and at the same time makes her flesh-and-blood. Her seemingly genuine concern for her grandsons. Her stiff upper lip in public and her private soul searching. This Queen is hardy enough to drive herself around the estate, but fragile enough to weep softly in solitude. Although the Queen serves as the ultimate symbol of the royal family, Mirren's portrayal of the woman (and her evolution into something somehow more "modern") sets her apart from the rest of the caricatures with crowns. It's a performance which dramatically shows the limits (traditional and self-imposed) that surround Elizabeth, but it is also ultimately a sympathetic portrayal that fascinates throughout the length of the movie.

It's a film not to be missed. This look at a particular week in history becomes a rich examination of the monarchy and modernity, and how families--and ultimately the individuals within them --deal with the inevitable "progress" that confronts them.