The star of The Devil Wears Prada is doing a good job of proving herself as a serious actress as well as an adept comedienne. Following her supporting turn as one of the neglected wives of Brokeback Mountain, her next role is as 19th century novelist Jane Austen in Becoming Jane – a part she won over the likes of Kate Winslet, Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley. Part funded by the UK Film Council – which has been responsible for more misses than hits, yet sill has some quality movies like The Constant Gardener and the upcoming The Last King of Scotland to its credit – Hathaway’s co-stars will include James Cromwell, Julie Walters, Maggie Smith and rising star James McAvoy.
Archive for the ‘James Cromwell’ Category
Review: The Queen
September 15, 2006UK Release: 15th September 2006
New Labour modernism is pitted against old-fashioned Royal Family protocol in this poignantly amusing mix of fact and fiction set in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s fatal car crash in 1997. How newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) finally convinced the Crown (in the shape of Helen Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth II) to acknowledge the British public’s overwhelming collective grief and avoid a constitutional crisis makes for a fascinating and affecting memoir that’s superbly scripted by Peter Morgan.
Destined to become the apocryphal truth — despite mainly being pure fabrication — the movie benefits from director Stephen Frears’s clever manipulation of iconic newsreel footage and flawless re-creation, with powerful and surprisingly moving results.
The acting is exemplary, with Sheen’s Blair spot on, Sylvia Syms a joy as the Queen Mother and James Cromwell hilariously pompous as Prince Philip. But it’s Mirren’s faultless, lookalike Queen Elizabeth facing the demands of a changing monarchy that resonates most with pure regal brilliance.
*****
UK cinema certificate 12A
Running time 102mins
Review by Alan Jones
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