The Queen speculates on the behind-the-scenes turmoil that engulfed England’s royal family in the days following Princess Diana’s death. Helen Mirren anchors the picture as Queen Elizabeth II, and she’s able to simultaneously evoke disgust and sympathy at once. Even as she coldly dismisses the significance of Diana’s death, especially to her grandsons, Elizabeth exhibits the very sort of stalwart determination that is needed in such trying times. Mirren’s challenge was not to act at all, but instead use stoicism as an all-encompassing form of expression. In those terms, she doesn’t act beautifully.
