Pop Culture Yay

Last weekend I saw The Queen and Casino Royale—two movies that had little in common, other than the fact that both featured protagonists who are kind of angsty. Not in a Laguna Beach “OMG is Jason going to dump me” way, but in an “Am I out of touch with my loyal subjects” way and “Damn, it’s hard to stop these blood-weeping terrorists” way, respectively. Just to be specific. The queen’s angst results in about three tears that are wiped away in seconds with an Hermes scarf, and James Bond’s angst results in a number of people getting blown up, drowned or whipped in the privates.

Oh yeah, other commonalities: Both movies have British leads and were featured on quite a few critics’ top ten lists for 2006. (Aren’t I good at compare/contrast? If I knew how, I would make a Venn diagram.)

On Friday I saw The Queen, and Helen Mirren was so good it was almost unsettling. (Related, I promise: I saw Jennifer Aniston on Oprah once talking about how Robin Wright Penn makes acting choices with every part of her body. “She back-acts!” Jen gushed. Well, if Robin Wright Penn back-acts, then Helen Mirren eyelid-acts. And even though we couldn’t see through her wellies, I’m sure her big toenail was totally regal as well. The woman is crazy good.)

Other than Helen Mirren, my favorite thing about The Queen was how cooped up it all felt. In the film, everything we learned about the aftermath of Diana’s death came from within the walls of Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street or Balmoral. Even the panoramic shots of the queen’s forty thousand lush acres seemed stifling.

My unpopular opinion, however, is that there is a downside to this well-crafted constraint. Such an intense focus on the major players led to some distracting exposition. I couldn’t shake the feeling that some of the dialogue was for my benefit. It shattered some of the pretense of a voyeuristic window into the queen’s very private world. Small price to pay, though, for such an intimate portrait of such an emotionally guarded monarch.

The Queen may play it close to the vest, but the new James Bond?? He’s letting it all hang out! So to speak. He emotes, he gets his hands dirty, he makes mistakes, he implodes historic buildings. Considering that the last James Bond movie I saw had an invisible car, even a marginally less ridiculous film would have sufficed, but Casino Royale happens to be both entertaining and actually GOOD. As the legitimate critics told you, Daniel Craig is a fantastic Bond. If you haven’t already seen it, go. To both.

The Queen: 3 1/2 popcorn buckets
Casino Royale: 3 1/2 popcorn buckets

Posted on January 5th, 2007 by Melissa
Filed under: Uncategorized