Mrs. Brown

Mourning the death of Prince Albert, widow Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) can't bring herself to leave her home or govern the country. Enter John Brown (Bill Connolly), a Scottish manservant who encourages her to ride her horse, enjoy the great outdoors and regain her sense of humor. It's a love story about limits. The queen's recovery is far from smooth, however, as Brown begins to insinuate himself into the running of the palace and eventually, the national political scene, much to the dismay of the Tories and Benjamin Disraeli (well-played by Antony Sher). The British press starts referring to her as "Mrs. Brown," chastising her for taking up with a commoner, and a bigmouth to boot. John Madden's film is long on historical details but short on energy, and Connolly's performance is eventually more tedious than robust (his wake-up calls to the queen are generally prefaced by "Ahhh, woman!"). Dench, however, is consistently keen, registering Victoria's wildly swinging moods, from melancholy and anger to joy and arousal, with subtlety and elegance.

—Cindy Fuchs