Queen Victoria is the longest female monarch in history and the longest reigning monarch, male or female, of the United Kingdom . This film is basically a dramatization of her ascension to the throne and pretty much centers around her relationship and love she shares with Prince Albert . It also revolves around her early political moves and relationships behind the advisors and courts that she chooses.
The plot is actually very historically accurate with a few small dramatizations, which are understandable to add dramatic effect for the film. The plot feels like a story and has a genuine storyline throughout which makes it just awe-inspiring that the screenwriters were able to include all the elements of a great story and stay so true to historical fact at the same time. This is unlike other movies, such as The Other Boleyn girl, which takes pieces of historical fact and then speculates on the missing information and relationships. As a history major, I appreciate movies which either stay close to historical accuracy or at least give a disclaimer of their speculation, which is why I have issues with the movie Braveheart, however I digress. Queen Victoria was one of the most influential and longest running monarchs and only because she is also probably the least controversial that is why we don’t see that many films about her. So this story was really fascinating to me to seen adapted to the screen in this way while also staying true to history and not creating controversy for added suspense.
The movie was filmed just beautifully and the set design and costumes were breathtaking. This film did win best make-up and best costumes at the BAFTAs and rightly so. It’s really amusing how the costumes are re-used in different movies produced in England and it’s also so interesting to see how and when each one was used. This movie was no different than others in that it borrowed pieces from Pride & Prejudice (2005), Becoming Jane, and Northanger Abbey to name a few. The sets and locations were grand and no detail was left untouched to really give this movie a feel as though it was being filmed during her reign. The soft filter was beautiful and really captured the feel of the movie.
I must say that Rupert Friend was a main reason I really loved this movie. He was just so captivating and really made the movie that much more appealing for me. This is not to mention that he is also exquisitely handsome and versatile as an actor. He really pulled off being Prince Albert and gave us a deeper look into a very surface character in history and shows us his love for Queen Victoria while at the same time not making him seem too domicile. Emily Blunt also did really well with this role and I wouldn’t say she exactly captured the true essence of Queen Victoria , as she historically wasn’t described as being so lively and jubilant, but she really did make the character her own and gave us depth. I’ve also got to mention Paul Bettany who did such an amazing job as Lord Melbourne that I had no idea it was him until the credits rolled. He really captured that politician and gave him complexity and depth as did most of the other supporting actors in this movie.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It was nice to see a movie about real love and power as opposed to the normal scandal and lust as is often the case with British Monarchs. If this wasn’t true to history, it wouldn’t be believable. All of the elements of the movie really came together and transported us back to the life of British Royalty during that period. I would recommend this to fans of British history or romantic period dramas. It really combines the beautiful filming and captivating love stories of both Pride & Prejudice and The Duchess and I think the fans of these movies would also enjoy this film. “Do you ever feel like a chess piece in a game being played against your will?” - - The Young Victoria
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