| royal weekend Marmy and I had a royal weekend at the movies: The Queen and Last King of Scotland back to back. Both of these movies are getting rave reviews and both are heading lines for the Oscars. One is about Queen Elizabeth and the royal family as they deal with the death of ex-Princess Diana, the People's Princess. The other is about Idi Amin, an infamous general leader of Uganda who made headlines with his slaughter of thousands and thousands of his countryfolk and his charismatic antics. This particular story focuses on the scottish doctor who ended up on his staff by sheer circumstance and folly. I remember the death of Diana but more with the air of the age it happened in and my age. I was pretty ho-hum about the whole thing. The only thing that I really remember from the period was developing my conspiracy theory that she was assasinated by the Royal Family because she was about to marry a muslim. Seeing a movie that takes a much more personal view of those days and makes the people involved seem real, makes me want to slap that kid in the face. As for Uganda and Amin, I know only what I have seen in the media. I know very little but that he was one of many African dictators but had somehow gained notoriety with his actions involving an Israeli / Palestinian hijacking and hostage standoff. I had never heard of Nicholas Garrigan, which is not surprising as he is fictional. The movie is based on a book. The main thing that affected me with both movies is that they star a very well known actor who at first dominates the figure they play but very soon become the figure so much that the character overwhelms them. I always saw Queen Elizabeth as one of the ladies of my father's sisters ilk. So, I had a fear of her cold collected nature but a slight affection for the smile in her eyes. My aunts could be nice when they were giving me cookies and I often thought the Queen would be a nice grandmother. I saw this look in Helen Mirren's eyes. As for Forrest Whitaker and Amin, well it was more in the forgetting the sleepy eyed, usually quiet and collected nature of Whitaker and seeing the raving madman dictator. He was frickin' scary. What I liked about The Queen is the sympathy it had with all involved. It acknowledged that Diana may have been a prissy bitch when dealing with her inlaws and husband (him having a longtime mistress might just encourage that) but she was a figure that the people loved. I don't know much about Tony Blair but the movie loved him at the beginning of his career, being a staunch reformer as well as truly respecting and caring for the woman who had dedicated her entire life to being his Queen. Charles is only slightly a buffoon flinching at every motor backfiring. But our star is the Queen who steadfastly wants to hold to her ideals of being a rigid queen while learning she has to alter things slightly for the modern era. Things are not as her mother's time were. People need their queen less and she needs the people moreso. But she is dignified through it all. I like the character portrayed in the nation of Uganda. Most movies of Africa show pretty countryside, dancing locals, superstitious old people, quaint and rundown villages and the occasional bare breast. But every nation is going to have a 20th century city and the trappings of adapted western lifestyles. Much of the movie takes place in the capital city of Kampala, a modern city for the 70s. We see lavish houses, clean streets and swinging parties with gogo dancers. It is a proud nation that wants to stand on it's own free of British domination with the trappings of the modern world made by it's own economy. Unfortunately they are more idealistic then observative and still wrapped in the detritus of ethnic violence. I liked both these movies for the element of something I am unfamiliar with, that they gave me a glimpse into, and for the wonderful performances of their leading actors. February 05 07 |
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Comments
I still watch and enjoy ER (even though every episode is "a very special episode" in the melodramatic parlance of TV announcers).
There has been a storyline this season in which Whitaker plays a very engaging character; a once skilled carpenter whose livelihood and then whole life go down the tubes as a result of incidents in the ER. His anger, bitterness and descent into madness are portrayed brilliantly. Great actor.
Posted by: joe at February 5, 2007 11:51 AM
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