The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria is a film that is difficult to write about. It's enjoyable and well-made, but doesn't reach out and shake the viewer. It has the aura of a Masterpiece Theater production, with terrific costumes, art direction, and makeup (all Oscar-nominated, with Sandy Powell winning for Best Costumes), and the acting is precise and nuanced. But I fear that by tomorrow I'll have forgotten the whole thing.

In one of the more bizarre collaborations you'll ever see, the film was co-produced by (among others) Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. It tells the story, as the title suggests, of the early part of Queen Victoria's life, when she was a teenage girl, the heir to the throne. We see a lot of the typical political maneuvering by her opponents and allies, and the love story between her and Albert, a German prince who was a pawn of the King of Belgium.

In terms of history, this is a nice story to tell. Victoria is best remembered today as a dowager in black widow's weeds, a dowdy old lady who was famous for eliminating sexuality in almost all aspects of daily life (even piano legs were covered). To see her as a headstrong young woman falling in love with Albert in spite of herself is a nice change of pace. I would imagine, though, that the woman would have been apoplectic to see herself depicted in a wedding night scene, as tasteful as it may be (but truth be told, the couple did have nine children, so she wasn't exactly abstinent).

Emily Blunt, as Victoria, is a great cog in the success of the film, as she presents Victoria as a complete human being. Rupert Friend, as Albert, is also quite good as a man who has to play second fiddle to his more powerful wife but still maintains his masculinity. It is not true that he was winged by an assassin, although I read that Victoria was the target of a startling number of assassination attempts.

Some of the palace intrigue is interesting, but some of it goes by in a confused haze. Jim Broadbent, as Victoria's predecessor, has a few fiery scenes. I didn't catch all of the chess moves that are attempted by Leopold of Belgium, who is Victoria (and Albert's) uncle. I guess he thought he could exert power in Britain if he matched them together, but because they ended up falling in love he couldn't manipulate them. Paul Bettany plays Victoria's first prime minister, Lord Melbourne, who is a sympathetic ally, though he eventually is cast aside by Albert. The problem here is that Melbourne was actually some forty years older than Victoria. Bettany is far younger than that. I imagine he was cast to give a hint of a romantic attachment between the two (their were rumors at the time that she might wed him) that would have been Hefner-esque with an older actor.

For history buffs The Young Victoria will go down easy, but there just isn't enough drama here to make a memorable film.