The Young Victoria

2010, Rated PG, 105 minutes, Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, Written by Julian Fellowes, Produced by Colin Vaines, Cinematography by Hagen Bogdanski, Original Music by Hagen Bogdanski

With: Emily Blunt (Queen Victoria), Rupert Friend (Prince Albert), Paul Bettany (Lord Melbourne), Miranda Richardson (Duchess of Kent), Jim Broadbent (King William), Mark Strong (Sir John Conroy)

“Some palaces are not what you think. Even a palace can be a prison” says Victoria. The Young Victoria takes the same imprisoned tone in its depiction of Queen Victoria’s life (at least the young part of it) except, instead of the dark dungeons of the standard 18th century prisons, the prisons are instead lavishly opulent castle with intricately detailed costumes instead of the normal scraps of clothing. What makes it more prison like however is the lack of detail and development in the story. The Young Victoria is an excellent movie to see but not nearly as exciting to listen to.

Per the movie’s title, the plot centers around the early life of Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt) mainly from 17 to 25. We are given a picture into her cloistered life as a princess and the rules and confines that entails. She is ruled by her mother the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson) who is the puppet of Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong). The tension increasingly mounts in their relationship as Victoria begins to assert herself and her position more and more and learns the game of politics. 

Much is forced on her at an early age and there is significant pressure for her to marry and effectively rule the land. As a standard protagonist she of course rises to the challenge and even manages to marry for love instead of just politics. While she is able to effectively rule and gradually gain respect from her subjects and Parliament, very little of it is explained in great detail. One must simply assume from standard movie conventions that everything is worked out for good and she wins. Of course the real Queen Victoria’s life had much more to it than the movie infers but for many, to watch the actual intricacies of politics and strategic political maneuvering can be like watching paint dry when not done well, and The Young Victoria chooses often to gloss over much of that and briefly depict a few of her triumphs.

Oddly enough while it glosses over much of the politics, it is at the same time stuck in those politics and within her palace and so you often feel trapped in a world that is not fully explained. For the first part of the movie before she becomes the sovereign, Victoria is forced to always hold an escorts hand when using the stairs. Throughout the movie it felt like director Jean-Marc Vallee was trying to hold our hand throughout the movie and instead of explaining developments to us, merely escorting us through them. Granted, Victorian politics can be quite boring, but when done correctly they are actually very exciting and can be used to highlight social and economic issues which still apply today. I think of The Duchess as a film that compellingly depicts the life of a female royal or Barry Lyndon that addresses social, economic, and political issues in an engaging way.

While the plot itself was often slow in developing and left much to cinematic convention, the movie soars in its decorations. The costume work of Sandy Powell was intricate, lavish and beautiful. She deserved the countless awards for best costume design, including an Oscar. Not only were the costumes beautifully done but the sets also wonderfully captured the royal interiors and exteriors of the Victorian age. Visually The Young Victoria was a delight to behold and captured your interest for the entire film.

To the movies credit, it was a story of love and less of politics. Emily Blunt does a wonderful job of capturing a head strong naivete and resolve throughout and the other actors do a commendable job in their roles (my respect for Mark Stong continues to grow). The love story between Albert and Victoria was central in the film and was a place of hope amidst a confining Victorian world. The love story itself was sometimes muddled into the politics to the point that there was not enough development between Albert and Victoria save the letters they exchanged. 

The films greatest weakness is its lack of development. If they had paid attention to detail the way the sets and costumes did, this would be an exquisite movie. Unfortunately, the lack of detail and the many plot jumps in the film, make it a visually compelling movie whose plot does not rise up the same high quality.

B-

Content Advisory

the content matches its PG rating with only kissing, a brief bloody scene, and only one use of profanity

Food for thought/discussion

1. Are there any parallels between the way Victoria chose her husband and they way we choose a spouse today?

2. Discuss the dynamics of the relationship between Albert and Victoria.

3. How was Victoria restrained by society? How does society restrain us today?

4. How does the movie define love? How would you define it?