Friday, December 11, 2009

I have seen The Young Victoria!

At last! LOL! I bought I copy from the UK - it hasn't yet been released on DVD here.

The Young Victoria

A few pictures for you to drool over. Yes, the costumes really are to die for!!

Some of my first impressions:

I liked, but I didn't love it. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think it may have something to do with the portrayal of Victoria herself. Perhaps in an effort to overturn the stereotype of Queen Victoria as being a small, mousy little woman, here she is portrayed as confident, headstrong, and vivacious.

The Young Victoria

Which is great, but. . . I couldn't really warm to her at first. I suppose it's natural to prefer heroines with whom one can truly identify! And I sometimes had trouble identifying with Emily Blunt's Victoria. The "Young Victoria" here is confident and, at times hot-tempered. Yes, she is clever and delightful but. . . I thought she seemed a bit spoilt at times! Which is forgiveable, I suppose, in a princess/queen. :-/

The Young Victoria

Rupert Friend (Mr. Wickham from P&P05. . .) was very good as Prince Albert. The production values are impeccable. . . the film is a dazzling feast for the eyes, as I knew it would be. Hmm. . . the cast were all good. The script was okay.

One of the things I found fascinating about the film was the picture it gave of growing up as a member of the Royal Family, and the quirks and challenges of being groomed as the next monarch! Some aspects of being part of a royal family may have changed, but I imagine others are still the same - to some extent. Going slightly off-topic. . . did you know that Sarah Fergusen co-produced The Young Victoria? And that her daughter, Princess Beatrice of York, makes a cameo in the film, during the coronation scene? I thought that was so neat, having a real-life descendant of Queen Victoria in that scene. :-)

The Young Victoria

I also appreciated the historical background of the film - whilst it was first and foremost a romance, there was still plenty of political intrigue and info about the various characters and events surrounding Victoria's early life. I don't know how much of it was historically accurate. Guess I'll have to get my hands on a good biography or two! Aargh! Another bunch of books to add to my overwhelmingly long to-read list. . . 

The Young Victoria

So - overall, I liked it, and highly recommend it for any romantic - or any costume drama fan (usually there's not much difference. :P). Like I said above - it's not one of my all-time favourites, but I did enjoy it. No doubt it will continue to grow on me after a couple of re-watches. 

4 out of 5 stars. . .

Charity's Place review


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH! You were finally able to see "The Young Victoria"!? How fun!

I've heard nothing but positive things about it and while I love "Victoria & Albert" (it's simply magnificent, for those who've not yet seen it), I've been looking forward to this version for what seems like f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

It hasn't released in theaters yet here, but is scheduled to open this month... I'm just waiting now to see if it opens in the only theater with a chance of showing it around here. :-) It’s wonderful to hear you enjoyed it, Elise even if it isn’t a favorite.

Miss Laurie said...

Thank you for this review, it sort of confirms my ideas of the film although I won't get to see it in the USA for a while yet.
Although I am mostly a Jane Austen fan I confess to having a great awe of Queen Victoria, her life, reign and love for Prince Albert. I couldn't really see Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Albert, mostly because I do so enjoy the BBC drama Victoria & Albert. Have you seen that one, it's really very well done with everything I've read about her life.
The two books I have and love are: 'Queen Victoria: A Personal History' by Christopher Hibert (a fairly large book but divides her life into chapters and includes tons of photos, letters and family trees).
Also 'Defender Of The Faith' by Charles Ludwig (out of print but available at Amazon, a historical fiction account that looks into Victoria's spiritual life through her letters and journals.)

Marian said...

I can't wait to see this!!!! Unfortunately, the theater I'll be seeing it at won't be playing it until the 25th, but hopefully I'll get to see it sometime during Christmas break. Judging from the trailer, I don't think I'll love it either, but I'm sure the costumes and acting will be wonderful, if not the script.

Rebekah said...

I hope to see it (when it is finally available on Netflix!) I will probably want to see it for the the costumes and to compare historical accuracy - I'm strange that way. Then I'll give a minor lecture to my family about each of the points I noticed that were historically inaccurate! lol

It sounds like it will be fun though! Thanks for the review! :)

To the KING be all the glory!
Rebekah

BLOG: http://www.donotgrowweary.com/blog

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15

Theresa said...

It's on my 'to watch' list too - same as Julie and Julia. I never seem to get around to watching stuff at the theatre! Arrgh!
I'm glad you liked it. By the way; the bit with Albert diving in front of the bullet is historically inaccurate - stupid hollywood. I'll have to wait till I watch it before picking more holes in it! haha! I'm so with you there Rebekah!

The Editrix said...

Laurie, Anon. - no, I haven't seen Victoria & Albert yet, though I've heard that it's good. Thanks for the book recommendations!

Marian - the costumes and acting are indeed wonderful!

Rebekah - LOL! :-)

Theresa - it doesn't surprise that that part was historically incorrect, but I guess they had to have some kind of climax for the plot.

Bramblewood Fashion said...

I can't wait to see this movie! I have been waiting since March, for this movie to come out here in the States!

Elise, you have been tagged on my blog: http://bramblewoodfashion.blogspot.com/2009/12/tagged-once-again.html

Anonymous said...

And Emily Blunt was just nominated for a Golden Globe Award for this movie! Hope she wins it, although I haven't seen this movie (yet). (It would be nice to see Carey Mulligan win, too, but I know that has nothing to do with your post! LOL!) Of course, I usually don't agree with all the Hollywood awards and all that. But it's fun to see some good period dramas get a little more recognition once in a while over most of the other Hollywood garbage they make these days.

~obsessivejaneite

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Charleybrown said...

Glad you got to see it! I also want to read more about Victoria and I love the fact that we got to know more about her in her younger years. I was swept away by this film :)