Cast: Emily Blunt, Jim Broadbent, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Rupert Friend
Dir: Jean-Marc Vallée
Rating: 3.5/5
We have had Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II and Henry VIII all get the big screen treatment in recent years and now it is the turn of Victoria, this country’s longest serving monarch.
And what’s even better for this movie is its incredibly strong English cast, so often we see these roles go to American actors, and Emily Blunt lands her first major lead role.
The Young Victoria focuses on the early, and often turbulent years, of Victoria’s rule from fighting off her family’s desire to halt her right to the throne to be crowned at the tender age of eighteen.
Those early years sees the young Queen learn her role as monarch and what is expected of her as well as her legendary relationship with Albert.
For many years Queen Victoria has been pictured as this grieving woman who lived most of her life dressed in black after the death of her beloved Albert. But like the two Elizabeth movies The Young Victoria throws away these stereotypes to show this monarch in a new light.
And it’s Emily Blunt’s performance that really drives this film she showing Victoria as a brave and feisty young woman who fought for her right to be Queen.
Blunt really is turning into a great actress who has made quite a mark in Hollywood so far in her short career. She has a great chemistry with Rupert Friend, who is also building a good career for himself, as he takes on the role of Albert.
And it’s a great performance from the Friend who moves from a shy young man sent to England to win the hand of Victoria by his uncle Leopold I of Belgium to a man who genuinely falls in love with the young monarch and is a constant by her side.
The Young Victoria is a visually beautiful and sweeping movie that mixes a romantic drama with politics. But scriptwriter Julian Fellows has shown Victoria in a new light as a young woman who was not afraid to fight against the constraints of her time.
This is the first big English speaking movie for filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee and he really has produced a great film, yes there are some historical inaccuracies but these films are never spot on, that has brought out the best of this great cast.
And Blunt and Friend are well supported by the likes of Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Mark Strong and Miranda Richardson who all produce great turns.
In all The Young Victoria is a great watch and another strong addition to the historical movie that has been very popular in recent years.
But it’s Blunt that leads this film and it’s another strong performance from the young actress that will really push her career forward.
The Young Victoria is out on DVD now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Emily Blunt The Young Victoria