The Young Victoria is an excellent film, but it’s missing a conclusion. The script penned by Julian Fellowes ends just when it seems it should be getting to the final act of the story of the up-and-down first years of Queen Victoria’s rule. Fellowes gets us over a hill only to feed us text to take us down the other side. It’s like investing in the stock market and watching your stock climb only to have it earn you hundreds instead of thousands when you cash out. Sure, you’re a little richer, but the promise was much greater than the ultimate payoff.
For as melancholy as the film opens, The Young Victoria is actually quite the entertaining royal period piece as it introduces us to 17-year-old Princess Victoria (Emily Blunt) describing her “palace as a prison” while she sits in waiting. Her uncle, King William (Jim Broadbent) is dying, which puts her in line for the throne, but her mother (Miranda Richardson), and her ambitious advisor (Mark Strong) are doing their best to keep Victoria under their thumb in hopes of controlling the throne and preventing others from winning her favor. It doesn’t work, Victoria hates them both. She’s crowned queen and banishes them to a remote palace apartment, and from there the struggle doesn’t get any easier.
Mostly, I would say it’s Fellowes’s instantly recognizable style to scripting The Young Victoria that makes it so easy to watch. Like his Oscar-winning script for Gosford Park, witty one-liners keep the audience smiling and quotes that would typically seem cliché become strong center pieces, such as an exchange between Victoria and her cousin Albert (Rupert Friend) — who’s vying for her heart — as they discuss the strategy of staying ahead of the vultures. Victoria asks, “You don’t recommend I find a husband to play [the game] for me?” To which Albert replies, “Not for you… with you.”
The ease in which this film goes down also speaks to the strong cast as I don’t have a negative word about any of them. Emily Blunt is proving she is one of the strongest young actresses today after an under-appreciated turn in Sunshine Cleaning and her scene-stealing performance in The Devil Wears Prada. Here she is dominating in her presence, stoic when necessary, wrecked when needed and emotionally giving to top it off. Accompanying her is Rupert Friend, whom I felt was the best part of this year’s Cheri (even outshining Michelle Pfeiffer). Friend, like Blunt, gives a lot with his facial expressions proving well-written scripts would do well with these two actors who define the “less is more” approach to acting.
As Victoria’s determined guards, Mark Strong and Miranda Richardson are dominating. Strong has impressed me since Syriana in 2007 and has continued to do so recently with Body of Lies and RocknRolla. He does so again here. It will, however, be a test for him to see if he can do anything more than portray the iron fist of a film. Can he soften the blow and become a leading man?
One final note on the acting is reserved for Jim Broadbent who is outstanding as King William. He’s powerful, nurturing, inviting and engaging. When his words are spoken you listen and snap to attention and it’s a necessary performance that adds weight to everything you see before and after he makes his appearance.
This was my first time seeing a film from Jean-Marc Vallée although I have heard his 2005 film C.R.A.Z.Y. is worth a watch. He has a good eye and delivers a solid film, but like I said it comes to a close too soon and it lacks a guiding focus. While Victoria is obviously the center of the story, the part of her life we are meant to take away isn’t as clear.
The film begins by stressing her imprisonment in her own palace, moves on to those vying for her favor and a subsequent love affair with the soon to be Prince Albert. Public opinion, her age and the future of her country all play a part, but as the film comes to a close it feels like there are still so many loose ends the film deserves at least another 30 minutes. Of course, you could look at this as a sign of a quality film I didn’t want to end (and you wouldn’t be wrong in that assessment), but it’s not a film that leaves you wanting more as much as it leaves you feeling like it needed more. There is a definite difference in the two expectations, although I will say the ending, as is, packs an emotional punch. Only thing is it leaves you wheezing instead of floored.
Despite my complaints of the film’s finale, I definitely recommend The Young Victoria. It is entertaining and carries a nice dose of historical fiction. If interested, when you get home you can look up how it all really went down and learn Queen Victoria wasn’t the pale faced beauty Blunt represents on screen. But I’m not complaining, not when the performances are this good, and this much fun to watch.
