Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria



I just returned from seeing the movie The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt as young Queen Victoria. The movie is about the first two years of Victoria's reign as she struggled to break free of her sheltered childhood and the political machinations of her relatives to become a grown woman and a queen. It is also a love story between Victoria and her handsome, shy cousin Prince Albert.

I absolutely loved this movie! Being an avid fan of the Victorian era, it was incredible to see the world which I have read so much about. Marissa Doyle's excellent young adult novel Bewitching Season stuck in my mind as I watched the movie. Fans of the book will be excited to see Dash, the spaniel and watch the scheming Conroy try to manipulate Victoria. The costumes are to-die-for and the acting was great. Rupert Friend and Emily Blunt worked well together and really seemed like a young couple in love. I fell in love with Albert myself! He was sweet and a little shy and nerdy and like Victoria, he was a pawn in an elaborate chess game controlled by his uncle.


Being nitpicky, I noticed that Victoria's accent was more BBC than 19th century royal and she used "I" instead of the royal "We." Also I felt that the scenes detailing Victoria's early childhood were rushed and glossed over and the end dragged on a bit. I would have liked to have seen more childhood and more about Victoria's controlling mother, who comes across as a weak-willed woman in the film. Also, Sir John Conroy wasn't well-developed. We're told about what he wants and how he means to achieve his goals but not much from him. He also comes across as too villainous, physically threatening Victoria, which I doubt he did in real life.

I wouldn't recommend this the general public but for die-hard Victorian wannabes, lovers of costume drama and those who love a good love-story, this is a must-see! The movie theater went to still has a projection screen and I would love to see this again in digital!

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