The Young Victoria

City Paper Grade: B

by Molly Eichel

CROWN VIC: Emily Blunt rules as British monarch in Jean-Marc Vallée's The Young Victoria.

[ City Paper Grade: B ]

Queen Victoria remains the longest-reigning British monarch, having worn the Empire's crown for more than 63 years. But in Jean-Marc Vallée's film, we first meet Victoria as a child under the watchful gaze of her mother (Miranda Richardson) and her mother's lover, Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong, who, given his role in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes, has cornered the market on smarmy, evil British dudes). Under Conroy's care, Victoria is not even allowed to walk up and down stairs without holding someone's hand. Julian Fellowes' (Gosford Park) script covers all the basic heavy-is-the-head-that-wears-the-crown symbolism, with Victoria comparing her life as monarch-to-be as a prison and playing up the idea that being royalty is like participating in an elaborate game.

She's pushed headfirst into that game when her uncle, King William (a characteristically excellent Jim Broadbent), dies. When she hears the news, she looks at herself in the mirror, a simple act conveyed with nuance and depth by Emily Blunt, who drives The Young Victoria past its costume-drama conceits. Victoria finds a friend in first cousin Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), who has essentially been bred to court her just as Victoria has been bred to become queen. He agrees, encouraging her to learn the rules so she can play it better than anyone else, and to find a husband who will be a partner rather than her charge. But Victoria, at first, is equally smitten with Prime Minister Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany, with just the right amount of refined sleaze and charm), who becomes a trusted ally — too much so, taking advantage of the new queen's youth and inexperience as a ruler.

Fellowes doesn't stray from history, nor does he go over-the-top with the Victoria-Albert romance. Albert is as much a pawn as Victoria, and his affections don't always seem genuine. Fellowes' faithfulness to history is both The Young Victoria's blessing and curse: While there's no heightened melodrama to detract from the political play or Blunt's performance — the biggest scandal to rock her early years involved the political affiliations of her ladies-in-waiting — it can drag at times, buoyed only by its strong cast.