Drew's

Date Reviewed	1/8/2010
Title	The Young Victoria
Rating
Directed By :	Jean-Marc Vallee
Starring :	Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Mark Strong and Thomas Kretschmann
Review	“The Young Victoria” captures the early turbulent years of Queen Victoria including her intimate growing relationship with Prince Albert. She was the longest reigning Queen of England. Emily Blunt stars as our title character. She’s wet behind the ears and far from prepared to take over primarily because her guardian simply doesn’t want her to have the assignment. Pressure is put on her often without respect or consideration as her mother stands by allowing another to treat her with poor intentions. Miranda Richardson has the part as the Duchess of Kent, Victoria’s mother. She’s a privileged fool without a spine or brains. Since our hero lacks experience and is without husband, boys come out of the woodwork trying to become her lesser half. The motives at first are unclear regarding the intention of each suitor. Mark Strong plays the most visible villain as Sir John Conroy. He desperately tries to get Victoria to sign on the dotted line waiving her rights as Queen. Paul Bettany’s character is a politician named Lord Melbourne. He merges on the scene as Victoria’s advisor, personal assistant, public relations, etc. Rupert Friend is Prince Albert, a friend that continues to get closer due to candid conversations, private letters and an ability to act as a sounding board, without appearing selfish or bossy. He reminds me of Orlando Bloom for some uncertain reason. Jim Broadbent adds a volatile performance as King William. He’s that Uncle in most families that makes a scene when he boozes a tad too much. I loved every moment when he was verbally assaulting the Duchess of Kent. He appears like an English Randy Quaid. This period piece has wardrobe designers in the film industry gushing. The scenery is rich, excessive and spotless. The material waste of royalty is careless and ridiculous. Emily Blunt was playful and rebellious in “Sunshine Cleaners” and aggressively tart in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Combining those two attributes creates a Queen that embraces the challenge of learning while demonstrating she’s a temper tantrum away from being drunk on power. “The Young Victoria” is a well crafted picture that lacks a quality to be remembered. You’ll likely think of the costumes, Emily Blunt’s entrancing blue eyes or the captions of their futures prior to the film’s closing credits. Since the relationship unfolds at the pace of a clogged glass ketchup bottle, the run time at 104 minutes tests the tolerance. Emily Blunt doesn’t wow us like Cate Blanchett did with “Elizabeth”, but worthy of her own contribution. Drew's Reviews, copyright 2010, Drewsmoviereviews.com, property of Drew Bean.