The Young Victoria

Who'd Have Ever Thought There Was Such a Thing as "The Young Victoria"?

I wonder how many of us - especially non-Britons, or non-historians - were totally oblivious to the youth of the great Queen Victoria; didn't know that she was a passionate woman, well capable of love, had an equally passionate German husband, and that together they had 9 children before he passed away of typhoid at the age of 42.

I was clueless. Be it because I dropped out of high-school too early, or they didn't make movies like that when I was younger. Movies that help you relate to the passions and plights of people who lived and loved more than a century ago, and whom we know remotely from pictures and older movies (like "The Little Princess"), but who once held a position that well deserved them the title of the most powerful woman in the world at their time...

Well, Martin Scorcese did an excellent job at arousing his audience's interest in such a spirit from the past who helped shape our present, and as far as Emily Blunt goes, it's hard to tell whether anyone could have ever done a better job at this role. She certainly did the job. Almost as if she had been much better suited for the 19th century than the 21st.

As for me, I feel enriched by the experience of "The Young Victoria," a tale of noble minds and spirits without whom this world might have been an even more woeful place. I guess we'll all find out someday to what degree we each made a difference and helped prevent greater evils from happening... or not.

Recommendations: The Matrix , Fratello sole, sorella luna , The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John

There IS no spoon!

The Young Victoria

Starring:  Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend
Drama, Romance-2009 (Rated PG)
Emily Blunt plays Queen Victoria who began her reign of England at the young age of 18.  As the only child of three uncles she was as protected as she was the object of a power play among many who would try to manipulate their way into her good graces as a means to exact some type of control over the crown.  When she finally does take the crown she insisted she was not too young to handle it does not go as smoothly as she had hoped.  The Queen is feisty, stubborn, and independent which is likely a direct result of her isolated, and controlled upbringing.  Finally free of the clutches of her mother and her hated advisor she is reluctant to take on a husband. Prince Albert courts her from Germany at the request of his family and waits patiently for her to make her decision.

• It was really interesting to take a look inside the world of Royalty with it's ladies in waiting, petty coats, formal dinners and familial obligations of marriage and gender roles.
• I loved it that Queen Victoria refused to sign over her crown and was her own woman at a time when woman were kept and considered the inferior sex.  She was a feminist at a time when the meaning of that word was not known.
• It was also interesting to see what it might look like when the roles are reversed and it is the woman who is the leader and the man who is relegated to the ruler's spouse.  She was so adamant that her role not be usurped by her husband just because she was female.  So intent was she on keeping him in his place that she overlooked the possibility that he might have something of value to contribute.
• The acting was great.  This was basically a love story and although there really wasn't too much of a plot or storyline I still found myself engaged throughout.

4/5 Stars

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Just Me

The Young Victoria

Ever wondered what a collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, would look like?

No, neither had we - but with The Young Victoria we get the chance, and against all odds it's remarkably intelligent and engaging. Scorsese and Ferguson both add their producing skills to the movie (in Ferguson's case, we suspect that she was simply there to oil the royal wheels), and the end result is one of the most vibrant and intriguing historical dramas in recent memory.

Of course, there are still plenty of liberties taken with the facts, but that's standard practice when it comes to putting history up on the silver screen. What The Young Victoria offers is an intrigue-filled peek behind the curtain of Queen Victoria's early years: from before her coronation, to her marriage to Prince Albert, and beyond. If you thought Victoria was too stoically prudish to warrant that kind of attention, then think again.

Emily Blunt is perfectly cast as the young Victoria, a girl who barely made it past her eighteenth birthday before finding herself ascending to the British throne. That doesn't mean that she had a normal childhood, though: her mother, The Duchess of Kent and Strathearn (Miranda Richardson), was in thrall to her advisor Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong), and she wasn't even allowed to walk down the stairs without an escort to hold her arm.

In retrospect it's remarkable that she didn't turn out even more dysfunctional than she was.

Once Victoria ascends to the throne her love for Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Rupert Friend) grows slowly but steadily, and The Young Victoria almost feels like a previously undiscovered Jane Austen adaptation. There's even the obligatory social commentary amidst all that romantic mooning, thanks to a subplot regarding Prime Minister William Lamb (Paul Bettany) and his attempts to divert the course of democracy through his friendship with the young queen.

The costumes are lush and vibrant - as you'd expect from the movie that won the Oscar for Best Costume Design - and the royal backdrops are regally decadent throughout, but the true stars are the actors. The Young Victoria showcases some of the greatest talent Britain has, from Blunt and Bettany through to Miranda Richardson and Jim Broadbent, and they exhibit masterful control of every scene as Victoria's troubled early years unwind before us. All that's missing is Helen Mirren.

If there's one flaw it's that The Young Victoria rushes a little hastily towards its rather arbitrary conclusion, but at least there's still plenty of scope for a sequel. Considering those Oscar wins, expect The Middle-Aged Victoria to hit your screens sometime soon.

4/5

The Young Victoria de Jean-Marc Vallée

*The English Review of this film is after the image.


Les  films d'époque ont tendance à attirer autant que repousser les  spectateurs dans les salles; ils attirent par leur reconstitution du  passé qui nous sort de notre réalité et par leur budgets faramineux. Ils  repoussent les spectateurs qui n'aiment pas l'Histoire et d'autres qui  se disent comme on connaît l'Histoire on sait déjà comment le tout se  terminera. Bref, le travail du réalisateur est d'autant plus important  pour innover dans ce style très conventionnel et qui a été maintes fois  exploiter et pour garder son auditoire attentif.  

Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., La liste noire) a su intéresser son auditoire avec  une mise en scène très soignée et une histoire détaillée de la période  traitée sans toutefois tomber dans un bavardage politique assommant.  L'intrigue amoureuse évite les clichés et est attachante et peu rappeler  quelque fois le magnifique Marie-Antoinette de Sofia Coppola tout en étant très  différent dans son traitement.  

Que dire de la direction photo de The Young  Victoria, sinon qu'elle  est tout à fait sublime et que l'on en demanderait davantage! On y sent  une approche qui rappelle positivement le Barry Lyndon de Stanley Kubrick éclairé seulement  à la lumière naturelle qui donne un fini presque doré à l'image du  film.

De plus,  Emily Blunt qui incarne la jeune Reine Victoria est très convaincante et  faisant partie des belles laides de la nouvelle génération d'actrices  elle rend son personnage crédible, détestable et attachant.

Le  seul élément qui vient heurter mon enthousiaste envers ce dernier film  réalisé par Jean-Marc Vallée et commandé par Martin Scorsese, est le  fait que Vallée n'ait pas eut son dernier mot à dire au montage.  J'aimerais beaucoup avoir l'opportunité de faire le visionnement de la  version Director's Cut de  ce film que j'ai beaucoup apprécié; d'en voir la vision intacte de son  réalisateur pour en apprécier toutes les qualités. Déjà, dans sa version "Theatrical  release" The Young  Victoria se place parmi  les grands films de 2009.

Period  films tend to be liked  and/or disliked by moviegoers; some like the reconstitution of the past  and the big budgets. Others dislike that it's History and that we'll  know the how it ends.So for that genre the director has to be creative  and has to do an amazing job to hold the crowd.

Jean Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., La liste noire) has made  it; he did a beautiful period film that recalls politics and History of  the ninetenth century without being too conventionnal and too heavy of  dialogues. The love story isn't full of clichés and it sometimes recalls  the great film by Sofia Coppola Marie-Antoinette.

The  Cinematography recalls Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon that was only lit with natural light that  gave a golden glow to the picture.

Emily Blunt's protrayal of  Victoria is just right and she shows great strenght as a young actress  (who I categorize in the belle laide genre).

The only negative  element to this review is my concern about Vallée's director cut which  he didn't got on The Young Victoria.  I would like so much to see an uncut version of this film which I  really enjoyed in its Theatrical release. I'm pretty sure Vallée's  vision is even better!

http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/2009/12/young-victoria-de-jean-marc-vallee.html

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Recommendations: Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Duel

Last updated: 2010-04-27 15:56:21 by MichaelParent

Film Review: THE YOUNG VICTORIA (2009)

RATING 5/10

BOTTOM LINE: Nothing much happens dramatically in this film about the early life of Queen Victoria despite a few sub-par political games played between the requisite players; the cast are likeable but the film is completely forgettable.

THE GOOD: The trend of making films on English monarchs continues with “The Young Victoria” and the filmmakers do a decent job of creating the period on screen and filling these images with a cast and performances that are likeable and have dimension. Emily Blunt looks the part as the young Queen Victoria who finds herself on the throne at an early age, and finding that the position contains all sorts of problems and issues, least of which that she is being pulled in all directions by those seeking to take advantage of her naiveté. Blunt does an amicable job portraying Victoria’s vulnerabilities and strength of character. Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany are likewise excellent as the sincere Prince Albert of Belgium and the more cunning Lord Melbourne who make decisive impacts on Victoria’s life. The production and costume design of this film are excellent, taking you back to Victoria’s time in image after image of wonderful detail. “The Young Victoria” is a decent recreation of the period it is depicting.

THE BAD: The film is quite bland dramatically. Although Queen Victoria faces a number of challenges to both her personal and professional lives, the way they are handled by the filmmakers gives the whole thing a ‘who cares’ feeling. The Mills-and-Boon quality of the romance does not help, although the performances do make up for this somewhat. Ultimately the film does nothing memorable, or justifies the price of watching it in the cinema because it does not take you anywhere special. Interesting, but nothing you would necessarily miss.

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Bitch Slap and The Young Victoria: A Dual Review

Female empowerment takes many forms.

So does bad film-making.

Both are present in "The Young Victoria," which is about the first few turbulent years of Britain's longest-tenured monarch, and "Bitch Slap," which is about three sexy vixens who fight an assortment of underworld thugs in their quest to find buried diamonds.

Emily Blunt plays Victoria, who ascends to England's throne in 1837 at the age of eighteen. Three relative unknowns play Hel, Camero and Trixie, femme fatales with an array of martial arts skills and a serious affinity for automatic weaponry.

"Victoria" has two big strikes against it. First, by the time of her reign, England's monarch had very little actual power. The prime minister ran the show. Second, the era was relatively quiet on the international front, Napoleon having been vanquished twenty years earlier.

As a consequence, not much happens in "The Young Victoria" and the stakes are rather low. This stands in contrast to the other recent cinematic treatment of a storied English Queen, Cate Blanchett's "Elizabeth."

"Bitch Slap" also compares unfavorably to Blanchett's "Elizabeth," in part because of the scene where our three scantily-clad heroines get into a giggly water bucket fight, splashing each other and laughing in a manner incompatible with the professional killers they are stated to be.


What Hel, Camero and Trixie are supposed to be concentrating on is the location of stolen diamonds, which are buried somewhere near a desert locale defined by a trailer home and a stack of gasoline barrels which, believe it or not, end up exploding.

In the absence of a compelling storyline, "The Young Victoria" focuses on the romance between Victoria and Prince Albert, a German nobleman who will become the Queen's husband.

By contrast, "Bitch Slap" fills out a sparse storyline with frequent flashbacks, often having to do with stripping or fighting or both. We also learn things about our three central characters, like one of them is secretly an international spy.

The problem with the Victoria/Albert romance is that it isn't very romantic. Albert's motives are largely geo-strategic, and Victoria shares more sparks with the charismatic prime minister Lord Melbourne, played by Paul Bettany.

The fatal flaw in "Bitch Slap" is that it uses its B-movie tone to conceal the absence of true wit or excitement. It revels in the fact that it isn't very good, raising the question of whether it's possible to make a B-movie intentionally. I don't think it is. The innocent era that produced B-movies is long gone. Despite its intentions, I think "Bitch Slap" is an A-movie that just isn't very good.

And man is there a lot of fighting in it!


Meanwhile, Queen Victoria has troubles of her own, like surviving the deranged assassin who takes a shot at her while she's riding her carriage in public. Albert does the manly thing and leaps in the way of the bullet, but he only sustains a flesh wound, and as a means of reconciling our quarreling lovers, it feels like a deus ex machina.

Speaking of deus ex machina, there's a twist at the end of "Bitch Slap" that is at once predictable and absurd. I won't spoil it but... actually, wait a second, I will spoil it. This movie sucks anyway.

The diabolical "Pinkie," a mysterious figure who inhabits the shadows of the criminal underworld, turns out to be none other than the airheaded bimbo, Trixie! Trixie is the character we would least suspect. Therefore we suspect her three minutes into the movie.

But did I mention all the fighting? "Bitch Slap" is practically a martial arts instructional video. And for all the languorous shots of our actress' bodies, "Bitch Slap" isn't all that sexy. (Well, except for the lesbian sex scene between Hel and Trixie. That was sensational.) 

"The Young Victoria" is full of courtliness and manners, but nothing very significant happens. In "Bitch Slap," lots of crazy shit happens, but none of it holds together, builds to anything, or makes a lick of sense.

Ultimately the question facing the potential viewer of these two movies is: how do you prefer to be bored? With gratuitous sexuality and mindless violence? Or with a stuffy historical yawner?

I chose both, of course, but I'm kind of an idiot.

SCORE (The Young Victoria)

How Accomplished: 44/100

How Much I Enjoyed: 36/100

SCORE (Bitch Slap)

How Accomplished: 25/100

How Much I Enjoyed: 36/100

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Review: The Young Victoria

Lets get this out of the way: as with all the many, many, many other movies concern the royals, the palaces are beautiful, the scenery is picture-postcard-dreamy, the outfits are impeccable, and the drama of being king/queen, the manipulation behind all the bureaucratic weasels, the importance of status, etc. it is all there and well done.

What makes this period piece of yet another queen/king's life worth checking out, is the romance behind it.  Yes, everything else that takes place in this sort of movies is there, and there's some drama/turmoil, but this is all about the romantic life of Victoria when she was young and ascended to the throne. That was truly refreshing because I cannot remember the last time I saw one of these movies have a happy ending (as happy endings go) for the queen/king subject. and amen to the fact that it was not a long movie either.
Emily Blunt of course is great, Paul Bettany as always very good, Mark Strong as villainous as ever, and Rupert Fiend (whom I can't remember seeing on anything else at the moment) was dashing enough.  Grade: B+

THE YOUNG VICTORIA

RATING 5/10

BOTTOM LINE: Nothing much happens dramatically in this film about the early life of Queen Victoria despite a few sub-par political games played between the requisite players; the cast are likeable but the film is completely forgettable.

THE GOOD: The trend of making films on English monarchs continues with “The Young Victoria” and the filmmakers do a decent job of creating the period on screen and filling these images with a cast and performances that are likeable and have dimension. Emily Blunt looks the part as the young Queen Victoria who finds herself on the throne at an early age, and finding that the position contains all sorts of problems and issues, least of which that she is being pulled in all directions by those seeking to take advantage of her naiveté. Blunt does an amicable job portraying Victoria’s vulnerabilities and strength of character. Rupert Friend and Paul Bettany are likewise excellent as the sincere Prince Albert of Belgium and the more cunning Lord Melbourne who make decisive impacts on Victoria’s life. The production and costume design of this film are excellent, taking you back to Victoria’s time in image after image of wonderful detail. “The Young Victoria” is a decent recreation of the period it is depicting.

THE BAD: The film is quite bland dramatically. Although Queen Victoria faces a number of challenges to both her personal and professional lives, the way they are handled by the filmmakers gives the whole thing a ‘who cares’ feeling. The Mills-and-Boon quality of the romance does not help, although the performances do make up for this somewhat. Ultimately the film does nothing memorable, or justifies the price of watching it in the cinema because it does not take you anywhere special. Interesting, but nothing you would necessarily miss.

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

The Young Victoria

In the next series of reviews of Oscar nominated films.. I bring you, The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt of The Devil Wears Prada, Paul Bettany, Mark Strong, Jim Broadbent  and Miranda Richardson. The film has been nominated for 3 Academy Awards and..... it was just okay.



The Young Victoria is a dramatization of the controversial first years in the reign of Queen Victoria. The film explores the plight of a 17 year old Victoria trying to run a nation, balance unrest in the English parliament and finding a romantic relationship in the "charming" Prince Albert.



I'll be honest. This film was not bad. But if you've seen The Duchess or Marie Antoinette, you would have seen this movie. Young Victoria is the typical Tudor age love story centered around boring political dramas between the Duke of Whatsername, the Baron of Bla Bla Land and Archbishop of Coca Cola. I'm really getting sick of these Victorian age royal dispute movies. Didn't the royalties do anything except dispute back in those days?



The script was boring. I was barely keeping up with the dialog throughout the film. What with all the Shakespeare language like thee, thy, cometh, bla bla bla. Yeah I get that you're trying to make the film as authentic as possible, but can you do that and not confuse me to death? Maybe these type of films are just too intelligent for me. Heh.



But what was great about Young Victoria was Emily Blunt. Her queen is the character Queen Amidala in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace should have been. A young naive girl who is suddenly thrust into the most powerful position in the country and is forced to deal with all this shit other power hungry assholes are giving her. Emily Blunt was absolute class as Victoria. Forget about Emily from Devil Wears Prada, Queen Victoria is Blunt's greatest role.



Though she does look too old to be playing a 17 year old girl, everything on the inside of her resembled that of an adolescent woman. Her usual sassy voice sounded like a sweet 14 year old in the movie. And I love her the way her character carries herself. It's kind of like, "I'm trying to show prestige and class but I still want to remain a rebel" type of portrayal.



I really don't see the relationship between Victoria and Prince Albert ever happening. This Albert dude is a straight up sissy. Forget about all the sweet lovely things he whispers in you're ear, this guy has the highest pitched voice ever to come out of a man. And my God was his talking annoying. Usually I like listening to British people talking but Albert was irritating. He was like Michael Cera, who mumbles every line like an insecure timid loser. Oh wait, Prince Albert was German... ohh okay.



Like any other Victorian age British film, the costumes and art direction is flawless. But then again.. we've seen these kind of costumes and 1800's type of settings so often in other movies, it doesn't really wow us anymore.



While it wasn't bad, it's just the same old period piece film. Queen is young. Queen faces opposition. Queen rises up and beats all odds. Queen becomes the greatest queen to ever rule England. So don't need to go rushing to see this, it ain't gonna add anything to your life.

RATING: 5/10

NicholasC

The Young Victoria

"The Young Victoria" is a very stately, quaint and slow moving movie. That should be the style of this film for it is absolutely lovely to look at with meticulously crafted set design and costumes. It is a very well directed and photographed and I found it's characters very interesting and the story intriguing. This is not full of violent deaths and political back stabbing like the more powerful "Elizabeth". This has political backstabbing but a more courteous and slyer form of it. Emily Blunt gives a very good performance as Queen Victoria who took over the throne at a very young age and was manipulated by her Mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her mother's advisor Sir John Conroy. She breaks out of their grasp when she becomes a little more independent and strikes up a relationship with her German cousin Prince Albert. The movie shows how their friendship grew into a deep love. They each counted on each other for support and closeness during tough political times. Emily Blunt is one of our fine new actresses with her great performances in "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Sunshine Cleaning". She is very good here and gives a mature and compelling performance. The supporting actors are also good especially Mark Strong as Conroy. Queen Victoria had one of the longest reigns which went on for 63 years and there is another good movie depicting the older Queen in "Mrs. Brown". That had an Academy Award winning performance by Judi Dench and "The Young Victoria" would be a tasty appetizer in a double feature with "Mrs. Brown. I usually am bored by historical costume dramas about British royalty except for the powerful "Elizabeth" with Cate Blanchett which is an exception. I found this movie fun actually and intriguing and damn beautiful to look at and take in. So if I like this then someone who digs this sort of movie is guaranteed to really like it.

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Vincent Snavely

Young Victoria (Movie Review)

Young Victoria, written by Julian Fellowes and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (and Sarah Ferguson as one of the producers), is a highly entertaining biopic. The film boasts a great script, interesting point of view and is terrifically acted.
Starring a fabulous Emily Blunt as Victoria, the movie follows Queen Victoria’s life from about the age of 18 into the early years of her reign and marriage.

Although Victoria led a sheltered life, she was not necessarily naïve and showed a strong, assertive side against her mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson) and the very domineering Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong in another terrific turn as the year’s leading film villain). Initially Victoria finds a confident and mentor in Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), but eventually becomes her own person with her marriage to Prince Albert (Rupert Friend).

What makes the movie very compelling from a modern standpoint is the struggle Victoria has in reconciling her duties as Queen with her marriage to a very smart man in his own right, Prince Albert. It’s a struggle that I’m sure would resonate with Margaret Thatcher, Nancy Pelosi or even today’s Queen Elizabeth.

Last updated: 2010-01-22 07:18:30 by jfuchsman

The Young Victoria

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Last updated: 2010-01-17 21:28:34 by malikaziz