Stephen Frears

The Queen Stephen Frears

Stephen Frears' critically acclaimed portrait of the English Monarch in time of strife. One of the most turbulent times in British politics in recent memory seen from an insider's perspective - an almost documentary look at the relationship between the figurehead and the brains behind the UK. It's 1997 and Tony Blair's Labour Government has just won an election, ending 18 years of Conservative rule.

Blair the firebrand (Michael Sheen) must introduce himself to the Queen (Helen Mirren) and ask permission to govern the country. The stone-faced Regina, in accepting, gives him not a millimeter of slack, silently underscoring the fact she's in charge. Shortly thereafter, the former Princess of Wales, wife of Elizabeth's son and heir, is killed in Paris.

The Queen's initial reaction is to hold ranks and treat Diana as an outsider, being that she has left the royal household. Blair senses the coming landslide of public opinion against this course of action and tries, as hard as a new boy can, to make her majesty see sense. The question of who's truly in charge comes to the fore.