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The Young Victoria Stars: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Harriett Walter and Mark Strong Director: Jean Marc Vallee Scriptwriter: Julian Fellowes Composer: Ilan Eshkeri Cinematography: Hagen Bogdanski Costumes: Sandy Powell Apparition Films Rating: PG with some sensuality and moments of violence Running Length: 105 minutes Whenever one thinks of Queen Victoria, the vision of a heavy set elderly woman with lace cap comes to mind. Victoria is the longest reigning British monarch ever. Victoria was born in 1819 and had a youth that is the period that Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) writes about in this original script. With lush photography (Hagen Bogdanski), music (Ilan Eshkeri) and costumes by Sandy Powell, director Jean Marc Vallee has a production worthy of a queen. And the actors? They do very well, thank you, in their roles of the young Victoria (Emily Blunt), her pushy mother (Miranda Richardson), the mother’s “friend” (Mark Strong, the villain in Sherlock Holmes) and most of all, Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), who married Victoria. The glimpses of royal life show the constraints of that period in history when the young princess could only leave her quarters with an escort, hand in hand, especially on stairs. She was being groomed to be the Queen and assassins lurked everywhere, ready to shift the balance of power. It is a wonder that Victoria married at all (Queen Elizabeth I never did), and Victoria hinted that she may remain single, but Albert caught her eye and her heart. He had the courage to speak to her as an intelligent person, and telling her to be the best player in this game of regal diplomacy in order to get what she wants. Victoria’s mother, richly played by Miranda Richardson, did not have her daughter’s best interest at heart and plotted with Lord Conroy (Mark Strong) to take control of the throne with Victoria merely a Regent. The lineage of this family was stifled when male relatives didn’t produce heirs and Victoria was it. Albert was to have been a pawn, also, but they foiled everyone by falling in love and winning. Victoria’s coronation (1837) and marriage are but moments in this film. Yet you feel the history of it all. Her uncle (Jim Broadbent) who was King William, hated Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, and banished her from court, which placed Victoria in jeopardy from Lord Conroy. His villainy and quest for power is shown when he doesn’t get his way and kicks Victoria’s pet dog, a small King Charles Spaniel. That is the lowest of the low and Victoria doesn’t forget when she is queen. Emily Blunt plays a Victoria who appears innocent, yet knows how to publicly speak and will have her own way as Queen. It is Rupert Friend’s Albert who steals the film. Here is a gentle man, with a self-deprecating sense of humor, who truly loves Victoria for herself and not for the throne. They had nine children and when Albert died in his early forties of typhus, it was a lifelong devastating blow to Victoria. We see what went on behind the throne and know that the decisions that were made affected millions of people. It is an awesome responsibility to rule a nation, especially when Victoria turns eighteen and is suddenly crowned queen. Blunt’s face shows it all, in seconds going from teenager to monarch. Just like Rupert Friend’s face as Prince Albert, when he goes from interested to love. Victoria’s maid, telling everyone to leave the couple alone on the morning after their wedding night, shows us that power comes in many forms, not the least of which stands outside the bedroom door. A masterful touch to a colorful film. 
Copyright 2010 Marie Asner
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