The royal family is a weird and fascinating institution. So obviously anachronistic in a modern society and so obviously lacking any real power. And yet it behaves as if it still had power, and all kinds of ceremonies are followed to maintain an illusion of power, not only by the royals but also by important people in the government. And the British also seem to really care about them. Like I said, weird, and fascinating.

The Queen makes good use of this weirdness by showing the royal family up close during a time of change and tension, the days surrounding the death of Diana. That death forced the Queen to rethink her role in the modern world and how far she was willing to break with tradition in order to placate a people that no longer seemed content with the royals doing what they always did.

If looking from the outside they seem strange, imagine what it is like to actually have to live as a monarch. To face the conflict of the centuries of tradition you have been taught to respect and the changing needs of the modern world. The great power of The Queen is that it allows us to see what that might be like. To see how actual humans might respond when they are placed in that position.

Helen Mirren’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II is incredibly effective in this respect. This is not a character that is prone to express exactly what she is feeling through long speeches. Much on the contrary, she keeps most of her thoughts to herself, like a good queen should. And Mirren plays that part of her perfectly, corresponding exactly to the public face we are used to seeing. But very subtly she is also able to express the deeper thoughts going through the Queen’s head. This happens especially in the quiet moments, the moments when she is alone and let’s the armor down a little. Beautiful work.

The other very interesting character in the movie is Tony Blair. Played by Michael Sheen, he starts the movie as the just elected prime minister, a man that is coming to change and modernize England. Obviously that puts him at odds with the monarchy. And in one of the first scenes we see him awkwardly go through an ages old ceremony where the Queen asks him if he wants to be prime minister.

But as the days pass he starts to sympathize more and more with the monarch, as he tries to help her out of what has become a public relations disaster. By the end of the movie Elizabeth finally takes his advice, conceding to his better understanding of the politics of the day. Blair, on the other hand, now obviously has developed great affection and admiration for the Queen. Or perhaps that is just the admiration and affection that were always there coming to the surface. Anyway, this changing relationship also foreshadows what would happen in his government, which turned out to be more conservative and less revolutionary than many expected.

Making this kind of movie about real people that are still very much alive and in the public conscience is hard. Making it relevant beyond the times and places these people inhabit is even harder. But The Queen manages to do it. This is a really good movie.