Review: The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria

OPENING: 12/18/2009

STUDIO: GK Films

RUN TIME: 100 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Her country. Her heart. Her majesty.

Opening Statement
For those looking for the standard choices from the Oscar season menu, The Young Victoria arrives to satisfy the period costume drama entry. Better still, it’s about a queen — respectable fare and popular with audiences too. However, while this movie looks like it runs through familiar territory, I was disarmed by the gentle, almost nervous romance it reveals itself to be. Setting The Young Victoria apart from similar historical tales is its economic storytelling and a winning performance by Emily Blunt as a young woman learning how to rule and love.

Facts of the Case
Queen Victoria ascended the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837, at 18, and ruled until her death in 1901. She remains the longest reigning monarch in British history. The Young Victoria concerns the early years of her rule, starting with a fight for independence from her controlling mother.

Victoria (Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning), the niece of William IV (Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and the only legitimate descendant in the Hanover line, grows up under constant supervision but virtually isolated from the world. Under a set of rules called the “Kensington System,” the teenage Victoria can’t even take the stairs without someone holding her hand. As her eighteen birthday approaches, various power plays are in motion. Her mother and Sir John Conroy pressure Victoria to sign a new regency act that would give them power over her. Meanwhile, suitors try to win her affections, to secure political gain for their respective families.

Once she takes power, Victoria is torn between her friendship with Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind) the British Prime Minister, and her growing affection for Prince Albert (Rupert Friend, Cheri) of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Though liberated from the control of her mother, Victoria is still unsure who she can trust but she needs allies now that she is in the middle of the nation’s political scene.

The Evidence
Real life politics are complicated and one of the pitfalls of true-life historical dramas is a story that tries to include too much detail. Director Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) and screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) handily streamline the snake pit of the 1830s English court as the backdrop of a gentle romance. Even though some of the peripheral characters are only briefly defined — there’s plotting happening in distant lands but it isn’t always clear who is on what side — the main story is contained in the palaces and parliament and easy to follow. Newly crowned, Queen Victoria’s authority is formally recognized but openly debated. Therefore, it would be both strategically sound and popular for her to take a husband. The movie offers two choices and viewers — even those unfamiliar with this slice of English history — will easily guess Victoria’s ultimate decision, plainly revealed by the film’s advertising.

Though he isn’t strictly speaking a suitor, Lord Melbourne is a major player for Victoria’s allegiance. The real Lord Melbourne was 40 years her senior but, embodied here by Paul Bettany, the age gap is not so extreme and he has the hint of being a romantic prospect. The young monarch’s tendency to defer to Melbourne’s advice leads to some controversy. Bettany’s distinguished charm works to convince us that Victoria would see Melbourne as a mentor and friend.

If the stakes weren’t so high, the blossoming relationship between Victoria and Albert could be viewed as quite an innocent affair. Roughly of the same age and upbringing, they share an easy rapport. Albert, a champion of the arts, can seem like too much of a nice guy at times and it isn’t immediately clear whether Victoria sees that trait as a positive or a negative. Their courtship is rendered almost timidly sweet, because of the reserved nature of their meetings and correspondences. You might think they were working up the nerve to ask one another to the prom, rather than consider the possibility of heading a country together.

Emily Blunt has done reliable work over the years, but she is truly outstanding in the title role. Her portrayal of Victoria is the perfect balance between headstrong determination and inexperience. Though Victoria has been preparing for her royal responsibility all her life, she can’t do it alone. She wants to be in control of her destiny but makes mistakes. Blunt’s performance of an intelligent young woman and a vulnerable queen is the heart and soul of the movie.

Closing Statement
Perhaps it’s a little ironic that this story of a remarkable woman turns on the question of which man she opens her heart to. Telling this story as a light romance could have trivialized the situation, but Vallée’s treatment is very respectful. While this queen doesn’t give rousing speeches before the troops on horseback, the young Victoria’s down-to-earth dilemmas don’t diminish her persona. Portraying Victoria as a girl learning to rule and rising to the occasion makes her more human and all the more impressive.

The Verdict
7/10

• “”>