THE YOUNG VICTORIA
5 out of 5 stars

"you're the only wife i've got or ever will have. you are my whole existence, and i will love you until my very last breath."
- prince albert to queen victoria



it's about time british hollywood did a movie about one of the greatest sovereigns ever to reign the british empire!!! SO HAPPY with this one, and by george! the acting, the costumes, ... the cinematography is just as great as queen victoria, herself! :)


this film focuses on the early years of victoria's life, as she deals with british politics on one side and a belgium king and his own agenda on the other. victoria (played by the lovely and beautiful emily blunt) is a 17 year old girl, who is ever so high-spirited and witty, and she is next in line for the throne. her mother AKA the duchess of kent (miranda richardson) and her controller sir john conroy (mark strong- god, such a great actor!) want to do everything in their power to make her weak and dependent on them, so they can be regents in place of her. (if you don't know what a regent is, it's someone who rules in place of the heir/heiress if they are too sick, mentally incapable, or in this case... too young.) victoria sees through their plan, and refuses to sign the regency agreement. (best scene: sir john conroy shoving the papers in her face while she's sick in her bed) all the while... she's being courted by a shy young prince named albert, who is tasked with winning victoria's heart by his uncle leopold, the king of belgium. there's more to this story of royal politics and love, but i think i'll just leave it at that... WATCH this one if you like any of these actors: paul bettany plays lord melbourne, the 1st PM to the queen, jim broadbent plays king william IV (victoria's british uncle), the gorgeous rupert friend plays prince albert and victoria's one and only love...


i think i really liked this film because victoria was such a strong monarch, and she was committed to helping the people of england as a just queen. when you read about historical figures, i think most history texts tell you their key accomplishments, how many children she had, and so forth and so on... i think with this film, you get to see a side of vulnerability from this high-spirited girl from when she's crying alone in her room to dealing with ridicule from her court. the family drama in this is SPLENDID especially when king william IV drunkingly calls out/insults victoria's mother for preventing her from making appearances at his court at his birthday party dinner. WHAT A SCENE!!!


i guess enough raving from me... all in all, i most enjoyed this one, and totally recommend it if you're into historical biodramas like i am... (plus, it's a great love story for all you romantics out there!) ;)