The Young Victoria Reviews

The respect of historical facts and investigation aminorates risl of romatic corny distortions. Victoria is wrong and weak sometimes, and credible right and stubborn in others...

Since I have a weak spot for Emily Blunt, I thought I should check this one out. Honestly, I think she is very talented but I'm still waiting for a movie starring this actress that will completely blow me away. I mean, she always delivers a solid performance but the movies themselves are usually rather disappointing and this flick was a pretty good example. I mean, it was a decent costume drama and it was pretty obvious that they wanted to recreate the same succesfull formula reached with 'Elizabeth' but it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. Indeed, I'm not really a fan of those dramas dealing with the so-called difficult life of the royals, privileged and financially fortunate. Furthermore, I thought the plot was pretty thin. Still, there were also some things that I enjoyed here. Indeed, the directing was pretty good and the costumes and sets were just plain gorgeous. I also enjoyed the sweet love story involving Victoria and Albert and it was refreshing to see a royal figure marrying someone she really loved instead of getting the usually gloomy relationship they usually end up with. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it remains a well made costume drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Malus: Victoria & Albert

Bonus: It was interesting to see the relationship between the Queen and the Prime Minister, since the Prime Minister, after all, must enjoy the confidence of the sovereign.

Malus: I was saddened to see that Lord Melbourne's character was never really fleshed out... it was mostly just Evil Politician Melbourne = Bad, Pretty Boy Albert = Good. And Peel was basically ignored.

Bonus: I was amused to learn that in the 19th century, even rioters wore top-hats.

Malus: Victoria topples an elected government by refusing reasonable co-operation with the incoming Prime Minister (Peel), then later complains that she's being oppressed by those wicked men just because they don't want it to happen again. Honestly, if you want to be an absolute monarch, just marry that Prince of Prussia you were dancing with before, and set yourself up in Berlin. But in England, there are elections, and by right and by law they ought to be honored.

Consolation Prize: You get to learn a little bit about her miserable, English, stifling/smothering childhood, where she couldn't read novels or go up or down the stairs without holding her nurse's hands, all of which undoubtetely paved the way for the mistakes, failures, and hissy fits of her young adulthood.

....non-sequitur:

Bonus: Who is King Leopold? FEGELEIN, FEGELEIN, FEGELEIN!

And who's Prince Albert? Wickham! WICKHAM! Boo! Hiss! Wickham! Get off the stage! OFF THE STAGE, WICKHAM!

.......

And, you know, fucking *Wickham* was up there, pretending to be fucking *Ghandi*; I wanted to strangle him.

(6/10)

I'm so glad about the happy ending! It is always a pleasure to watch Rupert Friend and Emily Blunt has this essence of royalty which makes her perfect for the role.

You are the only wife I've got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you until my last breath.

I've been longing to watch this film for ages, and I finally got the chance to do so last night. The film revolves around the early years of England's longest ruling monarch (to date), Queen Victoria (Blunt). Being the only child of the three royal brothers of England, she is, without a doubt, tapped to be the next ruling monarch. However, back in her home in Kent, there are those who wish to have her throne usurped - namely, Sir John Conroy (Strong), who insists to keep the princess under his control. Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent (Richardson), adds fuel to the fire by consenting to Sir Conroy's demands, and this puts her under a bad light during King William's (Broadbent) birthday party. Not soon after that, Sir Conroy lashes out at the princess, insisting that she rule along with her mother, and that she follow everything he orders her to do. When she refuses, Sir Conroy manhandles her, and Victoria is hurt and angry to see that her mother does nothing to stop it. During these turbulent times, Victoria meets Prince Albert. The two share a close correspondence throughout the years, and it can be said that they fall in love with each other. Albert is concerned with the way things are happening in Victoria's court, and although he strongly wishes to ask Victoria to marry him, he cannot, as the proposal should come from her. Meanwhile, Lord Melbourne (Bettany) does his best to assist the young queen, up to the point where controversy rocks the House of Lords over Lord Melbourne's appointment of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting (apparently, they are all wives of members of Lord Melbourne's political party). Victoria turns to Albert for support, and they eventually get married. Their love for each other is apparent in this film, and I love the way they carried their feelings for each other in a subtle manner - during the first minutes of the film, that is. Emily Blunt shines in the film; her portrayal of Queen Victoria carried the entire movie from start to finish. Even if you don't like historical dramas, period pieces, or whatever it is you call them nowadays, you'll surely appreciate the beauty of the costumes, the sets, and the behind-the-scenes look at how a monarch's life can be parallel to our own. Must see film. If you really really want to see this, you'll find a way. I know I did. ;)

In a more picture world, Sandra Bullock would have never received an Academy Award nomination. That fifth slot would have gone to Emily Blunt for her pitch-perfect dewy interpretation of the young Queen Victoria. Vulnerable but sexy, stubborn but still charming, she is scrumptious and deserved to be recognized. (And yes, she is far too attractive to look anything like the real Victoria.)

The Young Victoria shares much in common with the numerous other costume dramas of the past ten years, even if it is a step below Elizabeth it is miles better than The Other Boleyn Girl or Elizabeth: The Golden Age. It lacks the distinctness of Elizabeth’s visual palette and richness of emotional textures, but it’s a sweetly fluffy treat. Yes, the same kind of political satellite’s maneuver to control our young queen, and she mistakes being headstrong for being strong, but she is only a teenager after all. It does follow another pattern set by Elizabeth: who cares about historical accuracy when you’re trying to describe the emotions and mentality of this young monarch. I feel like I learned something about Victoria from this.

And, yes, since it is a historical costume drama it comes armed to the teeth with an amazing visual palette. The costumes are meticulously crafted and, quite honestly, things of rare and shimmering beauty. Blunt’s attractive face gets framed by all sorts of flowers, braids, buns, hats, scarves, lace, you name it. And the real sets – roughly, nine castles, stately manors, and, of course, Westminister Abbey – are always a glorious thing to behold, especially when they’re outfitted in such ornate and Baroque designs. Visually, this is fantastic, even if it’s all been used and seen before.

What can I say? I love a good period costume drama, especially if some kind of royalty and political intrigue is involved.

After seeing the trailer of The Young Victoria I was really looking forward to seeing it because I love films based on history especially about Kings And Queens of Britain. After seeing it on DVD, there were some things about The Young Victoria that slightly disappointed me. They were that as I was watching it, it didn't really feel like history, it was too short as well, and I thought that the film ended unfinished. The costume design within the film was absolutely phenomenal as well as the art direction like most history films are. I don't get what is so underrated about history films based on Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses. I suppose it could be there is no modern day settings, action, stunning visual effects or tense or scary moments within them.


Emily Blunt was actually pretty good as Queen Victoria. I do personally think there should be a bio-pic about Victoria's whole life rather than when she was young because it seems unfinished and the audience would request more which is why I was slightly disappointed even though it was a good film that I enjoyed. Rupert Friend's performance as Prince Albert was absolutely dreadful! He can't believe that Friend was playing him! He made Prince Albert like a charmer who doesn't fit in the style of the film at all which is the most disappointing thing about this film. Albert is the cousin of Victoria. Personally, I think cousins getting married and having children together is almost as disgusting as brothers and sisters, mums and sons and fathers and daughters.


The directing of this film was good but could have improved to make it feel more like history. It wasn't so much the actors but it was the way they were playing them that lacked the believability of it all being history. In cases of production and the way the camera was moving around was handled really well in my opinion. The script was really good. I bet it must have been hard writing a script for a film based on history because Victoria's early life isn't based on a novel or a play.


Overall, The Young Victoria is a good history film that does have its disappointments. It is neither one of the best nor one of the worst of 2009 and I think that there could have been a bigger improvement of this film. There should be an actress who can portray a full-life bio-pic about Victoria's life.