A Royal Affair
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Rating: 4/5
We are use to seeing period royalty movies grace the big screen but every so often one comes along that is head and shoulders above the rest... and A Royal Affair is that movie.
Nikolaj Arcel has delivered a movie that is both visually stunning as well as emotionally engaging and it really is not to be missed.
A Royal Affair follows the most dramatic love story in Danish history is the affair between King Christian VII's physician, Johan Struensee, and the English born queen of Denmark, Caroline Mathilda in the early 1770's.
Danish filmmaking really has been making a huge impact in the last couple of years and A Royal Affair is set to continue that trend as is it an engrossing mix of passion, politics and history that hits all the right notes.
This is a script that is superbly written as it is both gripping and entertaining from start to finish with intriguing characters and a wonderful story.
Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as Dr Johan Struensee, a man with a lot of compassion as well as ambition.
He is a man who wants to make things better for the people and Mikkelsen really does get under the skin of this character in one of the finest performances from the actor.
Alicia Vikander also turns in a fantastic performance as Caroline, a young woman who feels trapped in her marriage is looking for fulfillment.
The chemistry between Vikander and Mikkelsen is what really makes this love story work as it is a genuine and powerful romance.
But the standout performance in this film is Mikkel Boe Følsgaard as King Christian VII who is a man that is balancing on the edge of sanity and at any moment ready to keel over.
Director Nikolaj Arcel has been clever not to make this movie just about a love triangle instead he looks at a dark period in Danish history and how a small group of people laid the foundation for change in the country.
He perfectly balances political intrigue with romance and it is not on an epic or sweeping scale which works incredibly well.
The movie also looks fantastic as Arcel really has captured the period so beautifully from the costumes to the sets and the cinematography.
A Royal Affair is a movie that is not to be missed as there is a really old-fashioned feel to it that is so refreshing.
There are some fantastic performance throughout the movie, the three central characters in particular deliver very fine and moving turns.
This is a smart, funny, emotional and gripping story and is one of the best period movies that I have seen in quite some time.
A Royal Affair is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw