Armand
delicate subject. beautiful images. science of detail. result - an history lesson, a love story, new slices from a princess life/struggle, great performance and drops of political affairs. first steps of a queen out of any definition. beginning of a new era. and atmosphere of romance, force, innocence and difficult decisions. its important virtue - grace. the impression of subtle dance in middle of arena. nothing complicated, all full of flavor of that period. it is not exactly a show. it is an exercise about values and feelings. sketch of freedom power. picture of ladder for metamorphose of a kind of Cinderella in a magnificent queen. only strange - the portrait of Leopold I of Belgium. but nothing is perfect!
jc-osms
Yet another historical costume drama this time focusing on the early years of queen-at- eighteen Victoria and in particular her burgeoning relationship to her adored Prince Albert. Cue the soft focus and romantic music as Hollywood trains its trademark feather-light examination on the UK monarchy, having the too pretty and much too old Emily Blunt play the title role and Paul Bettany much too young as the elderly Prime Minister Lord Melbourne as her mentor and escape route out of the clutches of her weak-willed mother and the grasping, ambitious Sir John Conroy as the latter's controller and alleged lover.Somewhere beneath the well-presented pageantry and pomp, there probably is a good dramatic story trying to emerge but every scene it seems has to contain a resonant phrase or utterance to make you admire the writing, rather than allowing the characters to reveal their true selves with more everyday speech.I didn't like the shallow, showy acting of Blunt and Rupert Friend could play his part in modern dress, so little does he connect with the time and place of the action. Jim Broadbent gives his typical good turn as the blustering King Willam IV but Miranda Richardson shows that she played costumed nobility much better for laughs (as in "Black Adder") than here when she plays it straight, although that tricky German accent might have thrown her off.No, for me this too sanitised, too fawning, too calculating production looks all too much as if it was aimed at either the Academy and / or the US box-office, which I'm not unhappy to see it failed in both respects.
Nobody-27
An interesting life story of Queen Victoria is presented in a rather dull way in this film. It feels as if the director did not know what he wanted to tell us. We see numerous times long and often boring shots of things that are best said once and quickly (queen's dog, stairs, or just nothing in particular), all at the expense of character introduction and development, and story.Most "beats" in the film have been flattened by heavy weight of dullness, important moments are downplayed, some less important ones are overdramatized for no reason, and the biggest satisfaction of watching this film comes from performances of the two young actors - Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend.While all actors did a great job, which is one redeeming quality of "Young Victoria", Emily Blunt steals the show yet again. To see her go through full transformation of her posture, walk, accent, facial expressions, even the way she cries, laughs and yells for every role, is enlightening. As much as I chose to watch this film because of her, I was immediately absorbed in her character and forgot that it was Ms. Blunt I was watching, rather than her young majesty.Fortunately, Emily Blunt's performance makes up for most of what is lacking in this film, so it is definitely worth watching (those five stars I gave to this film were mostly earned by Ms. Blunt). Otherwise the film itself is a good study of how a good story can be ruined by poor script and direction.
lovely_moviefan
I am not sure why I love this film and have, without thinking, seen it several times. Maybe it is because of Blunt's moving and darn right brilliant performance as a naive girl turned passionate, confident, and loving queen who chooses to find love in her own time, and finds a great man to share her life with. Or maybe it is Friend's handsome and yet vulnerable Prince Albert, who's charming persona is something any woman would fall for lol Each supporting actor was very well laced and acted. I love Paul Bettany, and Melbourne's calculating acting had me guessing for a minute about where his allegiance lied. Strong's performance in this film is great; he keeps getting better and better! While I love Miranda Richardson in this, I had mixed feelings about her character....or maybe we were supposed to feel apathetic towards her yet pity when her daughter resents her for not comforting her during Conroy's rant. The visuals as amazing, the performances superb, and it's easy to see how much England (from what I saw in London in my short time there) appreciated & admired the Queen.
AD
