The Young Victoria (DVD)

Queen Victoria didn’t just reign. She ruled.

In fact she ruled for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else, a record the present Queen may beat if she holds out until 2016. Yet while most films about, say, Henry VIII, see him transformed from a handsome young Jonathan Rhys Meyers type into an obese Charles Laughton-like glutton, movies about Victoria usually centre exclusively on her later years as a gloomy, sour faced old widow.

This is different. Opening in the 1830s, we first meet Emily Blunt’s teenaged Princess Victoria as she develops an initially awkward romance with her German suitor, Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), before we move onto her early years on the throne. In the meantime, she finds herself in a constant battle to assert her authority over her Germanic mother (Miranda Richardson) and bossy baron, Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong).

Although too tall and, frankly, attractive to be Queen  Victoria at any age,  Emily Blunt is otherwise perfect for the role, while Rupert Friend is impressive as the crusading Albert. Some of the smaller roles are less well handled. Paul Bettany just  looks weird as the sixty-something Lord Melbourne and Jim Broadbent, while brilliant as ever as Victoria’s eccentric uncle William IV,  is so heavily made up that during the state banquet scene he resembles Bilbo Baggins at his eleventy-first birthday party.

Yet, for the most part, the film is both visually authentic and well cast. The problem really is the setting. Victoria came to the throne at a relatively peaceful time in the nation’s history. Her life wasn’t untroubled by any means, but despite a reasonable attempt to demonise Mark Strong’s  Conroy, there’s little scope for dramatic conflict. Recognising this, screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) sexes up events by heavily fictionalising a major event towards the end of the film. This contrivance apparently provoked the ire of the present Queen, not a good idea if Fellowes ever wants a knighthood.

The five featurettes here are all less than ten minutes long and primarily focus on the set design, costumes and historical background to the film. ‘The Real Queen Victoria’ is perhaps the best, enlivened by diary entries from Victoria herself, even if these are undermined by them being read by someone apparently  auditioning for a part in EastEnders.

For quiet Sunday evening viewing though, The Young Victoria is hard to fault.

Overall Verdict: Blunt and Friend are great and the central romance is well handled, but anyone fancying something racier should go for The Duchess instead.

Special Features:
‘The Making Of Young Victoria’ Featurette
‘The Coronation’ Featurette
‘Lavish History: A Look at The Costumes and Locations’ Featurette
‘The Real Queen Victoria’ Featurett
‘The Wedding’ Featurette
Deleted Scenes
Trailer

Reviewer: Chris Hallam