Stephen Frears, who had already impressed us with his film on Elizabeth II in 2006, goes back in time to introduce us to a queen who gave her name to an entire period, which evokes the Industrial Revolution, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Oliver Twist: Queen Victoria. But in Royal Confidant, what intrigues the viewer is the famous confidant, who suggests that the film will take us behind the scenes of the great History, with the event that will mark the end of a coronation that has long been the longest. Maybe it was too long for her…
A superb journey back in time
The sets in Royal Confident are absolutely stunning, especially when it comes to the Queen's castles. We are allowed to see an overflow of luxury that its occupants do not seem to see. On the other hand, spectators will be eager to discover each piece. They will observe them as a museum and this at leisure by the magic of cinema, to observe the gilding, sculptures and other paintings that adorn the walls. It should be noted that the set is highlighted in a pleasant way at certain points in the film. For example, during the landing of the queen and her confidant at the edge of a lake, where a wide field and a camera placed almost from a low angle allow you to admire the landscape, to almost feel the cold of this typically British lake landscape that seems to exist to be admired on a giant screen.
Time travel is also in the observation of Victorian society, which is posed in the film by two major means. The first is the look of the two Indians, including the famous confidant, reminiscent of Montesquieu's Persian Letters . The second is a luxury madness strongly reminiscent of Wes Anderson. Indeed, the two Indians find themselves lost in a world with implicit customs, where perfection is demanded of them while they know nothing. The second Indian, who plays the role of counterweight to his ambitious comrade, will then serve to criticize the royal government that lets its invisible subjects die. This one, for example, during a memorable banquet scene, sees servants agitating, screaming, rushing, in an incredible capernaum, with the ultimate goal of having impeccable service, with an almost burlesque humor that can sometimes be annoying. But it is often relevant and avoids the film being heavy, giving it an interesting freshness in a world where trivial things in ordinary life become a matter of state when it concerns the queen.
Queen Victoria: strong personality and sincere feelings
When we think of Queen Victoria, we imagine a powerful woman, in front of whom we bend the knee without even thinking about it. And this is the case in much of the film: we first discover an almost revered woman, who is literally followed by an entire court and whose servants are even an elite of their social class. But above all, we discover a woman much more contrasted. She is an old woman, who suffers morally and physically, a woman tired of living. And it must be recognized that Confident Royal is bold in his way of dealing with the subject. To see Queen Victoria who, at an official dinner where all the staff are required to observe the strictest dress, falls asleep, feeds with a harshness that borders on total rudeness, with food that sticks to his face, and this without any restraint, is to die of laughter because of its shift. But she is also very sad, revealing herself to be an exhausted old lady, who wants this life to finally end. Similarly, a moment with her face in close-up, where she says loudly what she thinks and feels, is particularly powerful. Each wrinkle recalls its humanity, that it existed, that the film gives us to see, in the absence of what is true, a feeling of reality as we feel little. Moreover, his resolute features impose their strength on us in this face of monarch tired by the pressures of a court corseted by etiquette and traditions.
The Royal Confidant: Victoria's Liberator
The confidant, the famous Indian Mohammed Abdul Karim, upsets the royal melancholy. Of course, it offends propriety and shocks the royal entourage. But that's not all: indeed, if it would stop at a few antics reminiscent of the ingenuity of Voltaire's tale of the same name, the film would be of limited interest. This is not a comedy that mocks an ignoramus. It goes far beyond that. Indeed, it is the ambition of the young man starting from nothing, who asserts himself as a human and not the living stereotype that we would like to make of him. But also, and above all, of his relationship with the queen, who although serving himself, will also serve the queen, bringing her out of her deep melancholy by the novelty of her thought and teachings. It gives the queen the opportunity to rejuvenate, to have someone to understand her and above all gives rise to an impossible love. The latter will torment the queen, but also resurrect what is forbidden to old aristocrats: love. The staging of an underlying love that is constantly waiting to blossom but can only remain bud, that makes the spectator shudder in front of this young girl who is reborn under wrinkles. Platonic love is true and impossible love in this film, which makes you feel a weight on the viewer's chest. And this is where the character makes the queen more alive than ever, at a moment when she was only waiting for death, and which justifies the entire film.
Confident Royal is a film that will make you laugh with a Wes Anderson treatment, but also reflect on the meaning of the life of a queen and all the social pressures suffered by a woman of her rank. With a serious treatment served by staging choices and bold shots, this biopic observing such a great lady in sumptuous sets deserves to be discovered.
