Mrs Brown (1997)

A matchless portrayal of Queen Victoria by Judi Dench, and an equally marvellous performance by Billy Connolly. Neither really physically resembled their real-life models, but that did not matter in view of the subtlety of the script by Jeremy Brock, and the sensitivity of the acting. Judi's facial expressions were miraculous, and Connolly is an infinitely better actor than comedian. There is also a superbly accurate and untroubled impersonation of Disraeli by Antony Sher. This steers delicately clear of the semi-caricature delivered by Westhead as Bertie of Wales.The sole question raised by this compelling narrative is: How true is it to the actual history ? Astonishingly, in view of the tendency of most historical dramas to fake and wildly distort the truth (think Braveheart), the feeling left by this superbly presented account is that it must have been written just about the way it actually was. Brown's diary was naturally deliberately destroyed.Seven time Oscar nominee Judi was finally given one for her role as the Queen in Shakespeare in Love, a very fine film. She was given her gong as long ago as 1988. I shouldn't wonder if the Queen doesn't give a gong to Billy Connolly. Now what made me say that on this particular day ?

I don't want to be slanted towards any film labeled awards-crowned, which would be a surefire guarantee that it is better than average, even though it stars one of my all-time favorite actresses Dame Judi Dench and it is one of her premier glare. HMMB is a British period film from John Madden (whose Shakespeare IN LOVE 1998 would upset the Oscar ceremony in 1999 and honor Ms. Dench's a golden naked man for best supporting actress), wrestling with a solemn relationship/friendship between Queen Victoria and her staunch servant John Brown, a royal entanglement which almost hamper the monarchy in UK history.It is perplexing to tell the narrative's dependability because Brown's diary has never been found, thus the film uses a mediocre approach to meticulously organize its contentious subject matter in a tenable and restrained patterns, the interaction between Queen Victoria and Mr. Brown is not as ample as one had anticipated, a bona-fide friendship never really sensed throughout the entire round, also the screen time of Dame Dench is curbed into sundry fragmentary montages, the sparkle of a two-hander abates slowly and the final showdown has been sketched into a intensive but abrupt manifestation. Ms. Dench rocks in her queenly selfhood, an inscrutably stately potency exuding from every scene she is in and Billy Connolly is not shied away from his zany and inflammable character, a tad hard to swallow but at least spiritually admirable. All in all, the film has extracted a disreputable scandal from the British history and transformed it to an over-cautious biography which shows that it is as bland as the director's emblematic signature of his works.

Mrs Brown is directed by John Madden, is written by Jeremy Brock, has music by Stephen Warbeck and stars Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer and Anthony Sher.Queen Victoria(Judi Dench)is living in seclusion at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight for several years after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert.It is while she is there that she meets a royal servant John Brown(Billy Connolly)who is put in charge of her horse. Brown is told to await her instructions for if she wishes to ride out any day.Brown is loyal to the royal family but has little patience with Victoria's staff or with her eldest son, Edward Prince Of Wales, who he can see is a spoilt and angry child instead of a mature and dignified Prince.After several outings together the Queen and Brown strike up a close friendship and he tries to draw her out of mourning and come alive again and stop being depressed about Albert.The Queens family, aides and the public find their relationship disturbing and find it hard to accept that a common person could mean so much to the monarch. This true story is a love story that has both pain and joy and some outstanding acting and is filmed in the beautiful locations of the Scottish Highlands. Dench and Connolly are both superb and have a lovely chemistry. Anthony Sher steals all his scenes as the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

A successor to The Madness King George, i.e. personal crisis for period monarch, featuring much-loved British actor in principal role. Luckily for Madden et al, Judi Dench, promising international fame with Goldeneye released the previous year, fulfils the expectation heaped upon her in excess. Hers is an exquisite performance, which should be held as the benchmark English monarch alongside or even above Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett - or even Dench's own Oscar-winning Elizabeth I (Shakespeare in Love, the following year).Billy Connolly proves to be the biggest surprise of the project, a sympathetic but also well-pitched and serious 'Mr' Brown. The rest are a solid, characterful background ensemble, my favourite being Anthony Sher's Disraeli. The film looks wonderful, with a limited but rich palette of colour and some real attention paid to the period detail.Yet Dench is the marvellous epicentre of the piece. It's a good film, no more, made indelible by it's eponymous principal. 7/10