I don’t know this new distributor Apparation, or GKFilms, but the UK-Quebec production of “The Young Victoria”, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (and produced in part by Martin Scorsese) is sumptuous and professionally made indeed, with plenty of classical music, including Handel and Schubert in the soundtruck.
In fact, the intellectually cultured nature of Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) actually works toward his winning the young Queen Victoria’s heart. It’s as if brains gave a reproductive advantage (to continue lineages for many kingdoms) as well as brawn. He likes Schubert lieder and all kinds of academia available in his German duchy. And Victoria (Emily Blunt) seems to have a fascination for his smooth chest.
Their marriage, which survived some political squabbles and an assassination attempt on Albert because of his power moves, produced nine kids, and then Victoria would reign longer than any other British monarch so far.
A lot of the early portion of the film deals with the politics of the failed attempt by King William (James Broadbent) to set up a Regency (according to the Regency Act of 1830). Victoria comments as the film opens that privilege can be a kind of prison. The very first line of the script states that some people are born into more fortunate circumstances than others.
Victorian England, the stuff of literature courses, is seen as proper and stuff, but the film presents Victoria and Albert as progressive social liberals determined to improve the lot of the poor.
The film also provides a metaphor for today's debate on marriage. Here, the royal marriage not only controls property and political arrangements (thrones); it is supposed to provide an emotional focus for the people in a world that is otherwise very unequal. We don't want that kind of a system today.
The official site for the film is here. It appeared the same weekend as “Avatar” and got a bit eclipsed.
The AMC Shirlington in Arlington played the film in a large auditorium (2.35:1 ToddAO on a full curved screen) to an audience 2/3 full, still. The AMC is offering coffee now (see my Jan. 1 post), free, but you have to know to ask.
Wikipedia attribution link and license for Buckingham Palace Photo. I walked around it in November 1982. The Palace was built during Victoria’s reign.
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