The Young Victoria

Posted In: Leap Year

Jonie Belleau says...

I thoroughly enjoyed this film!Emily Blunt gave a stunning performance as Victoria, but Rupert Friend totally steals the show as Albert, in many ways a much more challenging role, I think.Albert was a complex, private person and his relationship with Victoria is all the more interesting, because while he dutifully pursued marriage with Victoria as his destined "career", he did not expect to fall in love or to be loved in their marriage.Friend does a marvelous job of portraying a very reserved, rational man suprised by his own powerful feelings, and of showing Albert's very dry but keen sense of humor.Many biographers/historians have suggested that Albert did not love Victoria as she did him, but I think this has much more to do with Albert's reserved, Germanic public persona than any historical reality, as is amply demonstrated in his letters and Victoria's journals.Friend does a marvelous job of revealing an Albert who loved Victoria deeply and was willing to make great sacrifices for her, but who also had the strength to stand up to her strong will and fiery temper, and not be pushed around. Both actors obviously did their homework on Victoria and Albert and I think very much captured the essence of their personalities.I also very much enjoyed Jim Broadbent and Harriet Walter's marvelous, feisty performances as King William and Queen Adelaide.



One aspect of the film I found a bit jarring was the portrayal of Victoria's relationship with King Leopold and Baron Stockmar as being rather distant and hostile.While Victoria was quite determined to live her own life and not be a pawn in their (or anyone else's) political schemes, she actually had a very affectionate relationship with her uncle Leopold both before and after her marriage, and Stockmar was a lifelong friend and confidant of both Victoria and Albert and helped them through many of their early marital difficulties.Their manipulative attitude toward Albert and their obsessive focus on grooming him for marriage to Victoria was historically accurate, and Rupert Friend's portrayal of the young Albert's attitude toward their "training" is one of the funniest parts of the film.



I highly recommend Stanley Weintraub's biographies of both Victoria and Albert for those wanting the real historical background for the film.Sarah Ferguson's book Victoria and Albert: Life at Osborne House is also a well-researched and beautifully illustrated book about their marriage and family life.



There is a bit of minor chronological rearrangement to cram about 5 years of historical material into less than 2 hours, for which I think Julian Fellowes can be easily forgiven, and some slight embellishment of real events for dramatic effect (eg Prince Albert did attempt to shield Victoria in the assassination attempt but was not actually shot, Albert was not present at Victoria's coronation) but I didn't find it detracted from the story.Much of the script is actually verbatim historical record (King William's drunken outburst at the banquet, Conroy's attempt to force Victoria to sign an order making him Regent) and Fellowes included these bits unaltered, to his credit--they are fabulously dramatic, just as they are.



Costuming is gorgeous and well-researched, the film is a visual treat.A real must-see!

Posted on December 29, 2010

Taren Barkley says...

The Young Victoria is a magnificent historical drama depicting the childhood and early reign of Queen Victoria.Victoria was a lonely child brought up by her widowed mother, cloistered in an out of the way corner of Kensington Palace.She knew no one of her own age and grew up in an atmosphere of fear and intrigue.Her mother, the Duchess of Kent, worried that her daughter might die young or be murdered (a not all together groundless fear since her uncles, whom she preceded in the Line of Succession, were greedy and callous), and kept her under constant guard.The Duchess was under the control of her unscrupulous comptroller Sir John Conroy, who sawhimself as the future power behind a throne occupied by an intimidated Victoria.



Despite the dysfunctional nature of her upbringing, Victoria grew into an intelligent and independent minded young woman who, when she succeeded to the throne at 18, immediately rid herself of her mother and Sir John Conroy's influence.It was at this time that Victoria came under the spell of two very different men, her first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne and her first cousin and future husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.A marriage between the two had been planned almost from their births by the ambitious Saxe-Coburg family, and it was fortunate that on Victoria's side at least the marriage was also a love match. Soon after his wedding Albert began taking steps to assert himself, and eventually ended up serving as an unacknowledged but indispensable co-monarch with his wife.



This is the bare bones summary of the very rich and complex story of The Young Victoria.Beautifully filmed with elegant sets and costumes, it also does an excellent job of depicting the complicated political situation of the late 1830s, when the British monarch was still able to influence public policy.Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are marvelous in the chief roles, and the supporting roles are ably filled as well.Anyone who has read much about Victoria's early reign will recognize that some historical liberties have been taken in the name of drama, but the essential story is accurate.



This marvelous film will be added to my DVD collection as soon as it is released, and I anticipate many happy hours watching it for many years to come.

Posted on December 30, 2010

Jacalyn Zebel says...

As others have mentioned, the costumes and scenery alone are worth watching the movie for. The acting is wonderful, Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are passionate and emotive.



The problem stems from messy, unresolved plot holes. A lot of relationships are left undeveloped, and as a result I found it hard to emotionally connect to any minor characters enough to care about their plot threads. When you have such an amazing ensemble cast (Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, etc.) not making the most of them seems almost shocking. Their parts came and went without much ado.



I would have liked to see a bit more development in the romance between Victoria and Albert; the film did a great job showing their correspondence and how excited each was when receiving a letter from the other, but failed to include more than one or two little moments together before expecting the audience to believe in their grounded love for one another.



The driving conflict seems to be Victoria finding her footing despite ill advice, youth, and inexperience; her and Albert's common desire to help the disenfranchised is a great strength, but is never mentioned again after Victoria and Albert are married. They are never seen to do the work that seemingly brought them together.



With just a few little moments added, a few strings tied, a few characters given proper send-offs, it COULD have been utterly moving...but I suspect many of the scenes that would have made this film great rather than good are hiding on the cutting room floor. I can only hope for a Director's Cut at some point!

Posted on December 31, 2010

Fran Kivi says...

I recently got to see this film on an airplane as I was flying back to the US from England, rather ironically. I thought I'd enjoy another look at some of the English locations I had fallen in love with so recently, and it worked lke a charm. Stunning cinematography



Emily Blunt was superb as a young Queen Victoria. I know to the history buffs, the historical accuracy is not to be found, but truthfully isn't everything conjecture? To get reality, you'd have to have been there.



I found it delightful to watch, and it is has further urged me to do more research on Victoria and Albert myself. I found this fresh take on their relationship compelling, and any film that makes me want to dig my heels in and do some reading, gets a positive vote from me.



Well done.

Posted on December 31, 2010

Vernetta Holliday says...

Movie critics seem to brush over the section of movie goers that can't get enough of well done period dramas. The week before I saw YV I watched Avatar. Now, the critics love Avatar--new visual feats, jump scenes, apparent sex and vilification of the political right. What the critics hate is a beautiful well made film with monogamous relationships, real violence and a hero that actual existed. I suppose critics love the imaginative and spur the real, an interesting commentary on our society and its relationship to the beautiful.

This is the best period drama since the 6 hour Pride and Prejudice.

Posted on January 1, 2011

Jaunita Buford says...

Well, I came to this one rather dreading it.National critics had given it something of a bashing.But it is super!



Young Victoria was the only surviving issue of several sons of George III ("Farmer George").Two of her uncles, George IV (who made Brighton Pavilion) and his brother William IV (known as the "Sailor King" and "Silly Billy"), preceded her as monarch.Unfortunately for Victoria, her father, the Duke of Kent, died very early and her mother, the Duchess, fell under the spell of - not to put too fine a point on it - a conman in the shape of (later knighted as "Sir") John Conroy.Sensing the prospect of power, the two of them raised poor Victoria in a repressive background at Kensington Palace, dubbing their tyrannical regime "The Kensington System."



This is where the film starts.I loved it.Victoria is played with emotional literacy and verve by Emily Blunt.Miranda Richardson is restrained and blinkered as the Duchess and Mark Strong makes a villainous Conroy, slapping Victoria as she refuses to sign a document making him Regent.



Several of the other actors are so good that their identity in the cast list came as a PLEASANT SURPRISE (hence the title of this review).Jim Broadbent is great as crusty old William IV, asking God to let him hang on until May, when Victoria comes of age.(Thankfully, she did - and banished Conroy from her Court on her accession.)Michael Maloney puts in good work as Sir Robert Peel who Victoria clashes with politically.Paul Bettany is fabulous, if somewhat too young, as Lord Melbourne, Victoria's adviser and crush.



But the honours go to the dashing Rupert Friend, wonderful as Prince Albert.Albert - German and Royal and not popular with Parliament - is utterly rehabilitated in this film.It's a beautiful love story in a historical setting.The romance is made all the more poignant by the knowledge that Albert died after he and Victoria had ruled for 20 years.She mourned him for the rest of her life.On the morning afer their wedding night, he lies motionless in bed, almost a precursor of his death, as she passionately surveys him.



The loveliness of romance is underpinned by solid history and politics.The production values are superb, the research admirable, the storytelling gripping.



So what if it's revisionist in some respects?I won't be pedantic.But if you see it and like it, carry on to Christopher Hibbert's superb Queen Victoria: A Personal Historyand the somewhat less marvellous Becoming Queen (a bit novelettish for me).There's also a nice older TV version, Victoria & Albert with a cast including Diana Rigg.



Definitely one to enjoy.

Posted on January 1, 2011

Alma Latz says...

The delightfully dallying Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, treats us to a beautifully costumed glimpse of the political and power machinations that go on no matter the era behind the palace door in her production of "Young Victoria" directed by Jean-Marc Vall

Posted on January 3, 2011

Leonie Gauntlett says...

Starring Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Charlie Wilson's War) and Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas) "The Young Victoria" is a whimsical, romanticized look at the troublesome first years of the reign of Britain's longest-serving monarch, and her much-lauded marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.



Now, let me begin this review by asking all those of you baying for historical accuracy! Historical accuracy! Historical accuracy! - to please look elsewhere: from the second this movie kicks off it's very clear that this isn't going to be a painstakingly documented, realistically-imagined exercise in statecraft and royal alliance - "The Young Victoria" is a romantic drama, and I mean romantic in the most literal sense of the word.



Performances are all top-notch, with Emily Blunt's excellent reading of Victoria as a self-possessed, confident heroine being the standout best. Friend's portrayal of Albert as a lovelorn young man confined by duty and advisors is also great, and (thank heavens!) his accent is reasonable. Together the pair have real onscreen chemistry, and this provides the meat and potatoes of the movie - the restrained and forced nature of their relationship giving way to something real and passionate is finely drawn and satisfying, and a rarity given the recent spate of so-so Royal adaptations (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Duchess).



The sub-plots involving Victoria's weak mother and manipulative pseudo-stepfather (an excellent pairing of Miranda Richardson with Mark Strong) and Victoria's initial, ill-advised alliance with ex-Prime Minister Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany) provide narrative fodder and a break from the central relationship of the movie - all give solid performances, all are well-scripted characters, and the inclusion of these elements is welcome, as opposed to distracting.



Cinematography and direction are superlative, and this is one area where "The Young Victoria" really shines. A gorgeous movie, this needs to be seen on the big screen to fully appreciate the lush colors, textures and brilliant vistas of director Jean-Marc Vall

Posted on January 3, 2011

Arianne Politi says...

There is a crisis in Britain, a king is nearing the end of his life, and the heir, a young girl barely 18 has been kept locked away by her mother and her mother's companion for years. Protected relentlessly against all possible ills, including the fear of falling down the stairs. Young Princess Victoria's life is one of incredible privelege and restriction. She has everything and nothing.



This film of just a few crucial years in her life is extraodinary. It covers the time just before her accession to the throne and all the pressures on her to name her mother (and so the companion) as regent for her. And following that the considerable pressures on her as a young inexperienced queen and political player who unwittingly ends up as a pawn in one ruthless but charming politician's game.



This is such a significant period in English history and in Victoria's life, as she travels from near complete isolation to the queen of England. All the responsibilities and choices she must make, the traps she could avoid and the ones she fell into. And into this strode Albert, the prince of a minor German principality, but the nephew of the ambitious and ruthless King of the Belgians.



The Extraodinary Emily Blunt plays Victoria beautifully. As a young repressed woman in a strait-jacket and later bursting out with fun, humour and intelliegence. The love affair growing between Albert and Victoria is neatly handled - how does the queen of England get to fall in love and why?



I just loved this movie, as I said, Emily Blunt is wonderful. Jim Broadbent is a convincing William IV and Rupert Friend almost gets there as Albert. Perhaps it is the character of Albert, who is very proper anyway which makes the role a tricky one. Either way it is a stunning cast. The costumes and make up excellent and the cinematography excellent.



A great story, well told, filmed and acted

Posted on January 4, 2011

Eustolia Kniefel says...

The film takes a look at the year leading up to and first few years of Victoria on the throne of England. It shows the struggles, trials and tribulations of being a lonely child growing up under strict rule to being a young queen on the English throne, a queen that would have the longest standing reign in all of British history.The film also takes us into the life of a married monarch.A true love story for the ages, the marriage between Victoria, played by Emily Blunt, and Albert, played by Rupert Friend, was arranged prior to their eventual meeting. Their official meeting was scripted, but it was when both dropped the script and began to speak as themselves that the historic romance blossomed.The film is a wonderful depiction of the early life of the queen, showing how she became one of the greatest monarchs in British history.



Although I am not technically trained as an historian, I am as an actor and director and I found this movie worth its price at the theatre.Being one of many costume dramas that I have seen The Young Victoria has been by far most sound in design, screen capture, performance, and set. One must remember, though, that this is just a movie and in order for it to be completely historically accurate is reaching for the stars. This film was an interpretation above all; an inside look at the life of a young queen from an unfamiliar angle, her personal life. Though this is not the first film to do so, it is one of a few films that actually shows the passionate, loving and sexually driven young queen; not the prudish, "we are not amused" old queen we've grown to know.My rating for this film stands at a strong four star, and it is recommended that if you are able to let go of the idea of being historically accurate and allow yourself to enter the imagination of film makers you will enjoy The Young Victoria.

Posted on January 6, 2011