The Young Victoria: An unnecessary costume drama

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Friday, 06 November 2009 16:30

Since 1999, this column has offered the latest on new films in theaters as well as recent releases and classics available on DVD. This week, the “Reel Dad” reviews a new release available in theaters this upcoming holiday seasons, The Young Victoria, based on the early life of England’s Queen Victoria.

Unnecessary films can easily annoy. You sit in the theater, hoping the film will satisfy, only to quickly become bothered when so many resources are wasted on something so pointless. If only, you think, the producers had opted to make charitable contributions instead of wasting their funds on a film the world does not need.

For the upcoming holiday movie season, the costume drama The Young Victoria will likely be considered as the least necessary of the award-craving entries at the cineplex. This biography of the early years of the reign of Britain’s Queen Victoria offers no new insight into any dimension of the famed monarch’s life. The film’s only claim to fame, in fact, is that Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is one of its producers. And it’s easy to think of more entertaining ways for her to express her thoughts about the royal family.

As the young queen in the first years of her reign, Emily Blunt steps directly from her sassy role in The Devil Wears Prada to create a saucy lady with a lot more on her mind than saving her kingdom. Blunt’s approach to the millstone of monarchy is, actually, reminiscent of Anne Hathaway’s whining in that essential Disney history lesson, The Princess Diaries. No situation facing England is too important not to be described in a tangy one-liner; no dire outcome too bleak for a sunny expression or smile. That this Victoria has a manipulative, deceptive mother (the always watchable Miranda Richardson) and a ruthless, selfish mentor (an over-the-top Paul Bettany) to contend with is beside the point. This young queen is far more focused on the will-he-or-won’t-he behavior of her young suitor, an affable if over-eager royal from another land, Prince Albert (stoically essayed by Rupert Friend). In The Young Victoria, the royal headaches are far less explored than the royal romances, leaving an audience hungry for substance. The film conveys none of the conniving savvy, and brilliant instinct, that made Victoria the most successful of British monarchs.

Perhaps the core of the problem is the script by Julian Fellows of Gosford Park fame. Instead of articulating a clear, compelling point of view about how a sheltered young woman emerges to become the longest-ruling royal in British history, Fellows willingly reduces historical significance to the whinings of young love. Instead of creating a big-screen rendition of larger-than-life characters, he successfully reduces their ambitions and needs to the material most usually seen in a television movie. And we are left wishing the film had delivered so much more.

Ironically, several years ago, Dame Judi Dench portrayed an older, widowed Queen Victoria in a stunning drama for the BBC, Mrs. Brown, that was considered too fine to be relegated to television. On the big screen, it perfectly conveyed the importance of the moment, the drive of the woman, the adoration of a nation. If only the makers of The Young Victoria had studied what made then earlier film so memorable. If only they had focused on the woman and what she would eventually mean to the world.

Film Nutritional Value:

The Young Victoria

* Content: Medium. This could have been a cinema treat of insights into a great monarch. Instead we are served a would-be romance with a lot of costumes.

* Entertainment: Low. As with the most disappointing treats, this one turns out to trick us into watching middling entertainment for nearly two hours.

* Message: Low. Based on this film, it’s difficult to sense what made Queen Victoria so legendary.

* Relevance: Low. What could have been a fascinating look at the origins of royalty becomes as irrelevant as the powdered wigs adorned by many of the men.

* Opportunity for Dialogue: Medium. Actually, there is much to discuss about Queen Victoria and the British Empire. But the conversation won’t be stimulated by this film.

2 Popcorn Buckets