Young Victoria

Deb 8 Me 7

I didn't go in kicking and screaming, but English Royalty isn't a subject I'm particularly interested in. They just seem like pompous spoiled creatures who have inherited the earth while wearing funny clothes. However, we went to see The Queen a few years ago (which was about the current batch of sovereigns) and it was pretty good. Plus, the Kinks did a rockin' little number called Victoria. So in we go.

I'm always reluctant to see movies where they wear costumes. I know, they're all costumes. I mean clothes from another place or period of time. It's hard for me to relate to anything that predates Levis. I mean, if they're wearing robes and wigs to breakfast, how am I supposed to relate to their world? That's the job of a good director, to take these obstacles and turn them into tools to help you identify with the characters. So congrats to Jean-Marc Vallee for clearly defining each of the roles and making the qualities and concerns of the players contemporary enough that I could relate to them.

I don't know how accurate the movie was to real life. There are dates and places indicated, which used to mean "this really happened", but Oliver Stone destroyed dates and places as a credible reference. So if it's all real, if it's all fantasy or any blend of the two; it's well done.

The film wisely limits itself to a small period of time and a small troup of easy to follow subjects; and for the most part uses easy to understand contemporary language with only a smattering of period lingo to add to authenticity.

Everybody seemed to do a good job. It was a good looking movie, engaging and easy to follow. There were only one or two unanswered questions at the end, but not enough to distract you from the overall quality of the movie. And speaking of the end, there are more endings than Apocalypse Now. Weird, but just a choice by the director, no demerits given for that.

I don't know if we've just been lucky lately or if my getting old has changed my taste, but I've been giving out a lot of high points this year. I gave this thing 7 points and could have easily gone to 8 like Deb did. Despite my reluctance to see it, I was won over by it's well told story.