The Queen (2006)

The Queen is a quintessential movie. (At its end, I thought, "Now *that* was a movie!") Its performances are measured and outstanding, its story fascinating and snugly fit, its direction balanced and dead-on -- in a word, quintessential. Helen Mirren will take the Oscar. She is completely convincing as the sovereign embodiment of royal tradition yet also a human being with habits and emotions, just needing an adjustment to the Royals' perspective on Lady Diana. This movie is a captivating modern-day morality play that discerns the line between what is stiff-upper-lip prim and what is do-the-right-thing proper. All the supporting cast members turn in fine performances, esp. Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. 5 stars.