By Myrriah Gossett
“Young Victoria” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, is a film about the early life of Queen Victoria and her courtship with Prince Albert. The movie opens with clips from the early life of Victoria, then skipping through time until she is of age.
The two main characters are Queen Victoria and her love interest Prince Albert, played by Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend. They work together beautifully to portray the historical couple, and the movie is peppered with other characters from the time period.
The Duchess of Kent, played by Miranda Richardson, works through her conflicts as a mother and former queen, while under the advisement of Sir John Conroy, played by Mark Strong. Blunt and Conroy play the conflicting roles well together as well, as there characters differ on political agendas.
After Victoria takes power, she is faced with the choice of whether or not to get married, or to try and make her name alone. The inner conflict creates an interesting tension between Victoria and her love interest, Albert.
Albert, however does face conflicts as well after they get married. Lord Melbourne, played by Paul Bettany, is Victoria’s main adviser in political matters, which brings her both knowledge and conflict. The political happenings in England at the time get pushed to the back of the plotline, leaving a few things unclear to those who many not be as familiar with the history.
However, the humor and romance between Victoria and Albert keeps the story going. The movie utilizes the letters they sent back and forth before they were married. The letters worked well as a way to fill in the gaps in the story line that did span over a long period of time.
The movie was a heartwarming chick flick that even guys can enjoy. The humorous dialogue, along with the historical drama makes “The Young Victoria” a great film. While the writing and acting were superb, the costuming and scenery were perhaps even better. The set design and creation were extremely historically accurate.
The costumes were decorated with period details, such as the queen’s many ball gowns throughout the film. Academy Award winner Sandy Powell designed the costumes for the cast.
The film was followed by a reception at the Gutstein Gallery.
