The Queen's Sister

1 rating: 3.0

biopic about England's Princess Margaret

add a wiki

Tags: Movies

1 review about The Queen's Sister

Showing 1-1 of 1

Sort by:

The first people's princess

Apr 28, 2011

by katknit
posted in Movie Hype

Rating:

Decades before Diana, Britain's royal family had another "people's princess", Queen Elizabeth's sister Margaret. When Elizabeth ascended to the throne upon her father's death, Margaret felt very much shunted aside. Her efforts to secure some attention for herself lead to a somewhat scandalous as a hard-drinking party girl, made notorious by the press and a frequent source of embarrassment to her relatives.

The Queen's Sister was produced in 2005 by the BBC for television. In the opening titles is a disclaimer of sorts: "Some of the following is based on fact. And some isn't." The video follows her during the period from the death of her father to the late 1970's. Having given up her fairy tale romance with the dashing (and divorced) war hero, Peter Townsend, in favor of maintaining her status, wealth, and luxury, Margaret moved on encounter little more than instability, disappointment and frustration. Some of her problems were self-inflicted, stemming from her own inherent haughtiness and sense of noblesse. Perhaps others were created by the demands of her social position. But it appears likely that Margaret made her own bed. We all have to live with the consequences of our choices.

Lucy Cohu plays the princess with great style, vibrancy, and yes, bawdiness. Toby Stephens as husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowden, does a nuanced job reacting to the stringent requirements of royal marriages, which are conveyed to him by Margaret's brother-in-law, the Queen's smooth enforcer, Prince Philip (finely acted by David Threlfall). The background shots capture the ambience of the 1950's, '60's, and '70's, as does the music. Far from a dispiriting docudrama, The Queen's Sister is fast paced, frequently funny (when the Archbishop tells Margaret he can't marry her to a divorced man, she retorts, "I thought that's why the Anglican church was founded."), lively, and entertaining. It is also a reminder that "there is nothing new under the sun". Perhaps Kate Middleton ought to check this one out!

(The real Princess Margaret is the one in the black and white portrait.)

What did you think of this review?

Helpful

Thought-Provoking

Fun to Read

Well-Organized

Post a Comment

woopak_the_thrill April 28, 2011

I hate it when a church tries to control your decisions...Nice review!! This sounds like it can be a good diversion. On an unrelated topic, the Philippines' president may be ex-communicated because of his stand on approving birth control. So stupid and doesn't make sense. They should make a movie out of that... :)

show text editor

reply to this comment

Follow this review