Review

Review Date: 27-December-09
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

The Young Victoria (2009)

Watching a movie about rulers from an imperial past, one is always amazed to realize the opulence in which these people spent their days. The Young Victoria, a sure entry in the Oscars' costume and design races, accomplishes much else besides. Like Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (although to a greater extent), it shows how challenging life might have been for an adolescent monarch whose every move was scripted and every acquaintance was pursuing an agenda. It is also the story of a highly unlikely love.

While the French queen lost her head to the guillotine, England's Queen Victoria reigned for over 60 years and is renowned for the imprint she left on the nineteenth century. Her endurance attests to her mettle. In an excellent performance, Emily Blunt describes the curious mix of pampered naivete and inborn determination that marked Victoria's early years. The naivete resulted from a careful upbringing by her duchess mother (Miranda Richardson), who conspired with her financial advisor (Mark Strong) to make the girl subservient to their will. In this the duchess was no different than many European nobles, including the kings of Belgium and England, who wanted to insure that Victoria would follow their lead when she took the throne.

Victoria begins to reveal a mind of her own as her accession approaches, which occurs when she is eighteen. She does not have a clue how to handle Parliament or court intrigue; she only knows she is sick of being told what to do and eager to call the shots. Her will is admirable, yet a palace is not suitable for an individual nor a scepter for a sheltered teen. A key point of the movie becomes the new sovereign's attempts to master the complicated game into which she was born, which boils down to whose advice to heed and whom to trust.

The first advisor she turns to is the prime minister, Lord Melbourne (Paul Bettany), a hard-bitten politician who seeks to capitalize on her inexperience. Another would-be advisor is her Saxon cousin Prince Albert (Rupert Friend), who starts out as a suitor (through others' designs) and a friend (through mutual affinity). Their courtship is portrayed as a meeting of souls and minds, a chiefly epistolary relationship which exudes romance even if several sets of prying eyes inspect the letters before they reach their destination. One must view their love as unlikely because, if this movie is correct, it was exactly that and not merely a childish, well-orchestrated, or comfortable match. What are the chances of true affection blossoming between royals who could only marry from a tiny pool of relatives and approved connections?

The movie does not close the book on Victoria and Albert's relationship once they are married, but shows how her education continues as he tries to find his place in her world. Through learning to regard her husband as a partner instead of a refuge, Victoria passes a milestone in her development as a queen. Albert's benevolent guidance is just the underpinning she needs to move forward. While it is sad to contemplate that he died in the first half of her reign, The Young Victoria provides welcome insight into her tenacious nature and the good fortune she had in finding a mate.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.