La dame de Windsor

Mrs Brown is a good movie with a good storyline ,excellent performances by Bill Conolly ,Judi Dench and Antony Sher. Antony Sher(Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli)adds some humor to the the movie .It was a delight visiting the beautiful Scottish Highlands thanks to some marvelous photography and a very good recreation of the Victorian age. The real show stealer I felt was Bill Conolly(John Brown).He is portrayed as a loyal,charismatic,fun loving Scottish highlander who can dare to defy the Queen's orders .The scenes involving Victoria and Brown are electrifying.It surprises me that a talented actor like Bill Connoly Does not get many good roles.I would definitely love to see more of this talented actor.

Mrs Brown is an enthralling piece of work wonderfully crafted by Judy Dench and Billy Connolly. The story is about queen Victoria and the relationship with Mr Brown after the death of her husband. Connolly is superb and maybe should think about sticking to straight acting more often instead of comedy. Although the film tends to tail of a little in the last half hour it is still worth seeing. 7 out of 10

This is a phenomenal movie, but I am rather peeved at the way it has been marketed. When I rented the movie, the blurb on the box luridly touted the "forbidden passion between a rugged Scotsman and the most powerful woman in the world." Other marketing of the film is similar. That's not what the movie is about at all!! It is a very sad commentary on our society if a moving drama about terrible grief being assuaged through loyal friendship cannot be accepted for what it is. Is the American public really that shallow? I don't know whether to blame movie execs for dumbing down the presentation of their product to titillate the lowest common denominator, or the American public for maybe actually being that way.

Diatribes aside, Dench and Connolly are phenomenal. Victoria and Brown are complex characters with conflicting emotions, and one almost feels able to look upon their souls in this portrayal. Antony Sher was delightful as the orator/politician Benjamin Disraeli, at the same time both wise and gently pompous. The makeup job was so good that I actually recognized him as Disraeli before his name was mentioned.

If you are disappointed because this is not a puerile romance, shame on you. These are real people with real emotions. This moving story of grief and friendship is definitely one of the best of the year.

If you are expecting this film to be a romance than skip it. It is about the extraordinary man with the ordinary name of John Brown who brought a Queen out of mourning. Not that a whole lot of gossip about Queen Victoria and her Scot's highland servant Brown wasn't bandied about in their day. That's the way it is in court politics, then and now.

Judi Dench is the Queen who when this story begins was getting the unflattering nickname of the widow of Windsor. By the merest of chance in these royal arranged marriages it was arranged she should marry a cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. She and Prince Albert had a good score of married years with several children. They were so happy that when Prince Albert died of typhoid fever in late 1861, Victoria went into a really lengthy mourning period beyond all normal parameters. The woman would have needed grief counseling had it been available back in her day. She shut herself up in Balmoral Castle in Scotland and made no public appearances. Nor would she allow any of her children to substitute for her, particularly the Prince of Wales. With that kind of mentality operating, a whole lot of people questioned the need even for a monarchy.

Into her life comes John Brown, brother one of the household help already at Balmoral and hired to tend the Queen's horses. Billy Connolly plays the rough spoken Brown who somehow even through his tough highland talk, endears himself to his Queen with his common sense and total concern for her well being.

Gaining the position he does in the Victorian household, Brown makes many enemies who try to bring him down. The period of the film covers when he arrives in the Queen service in 1866 until his death in 1883. Connolly makes a fine Brown though if the film had been made 25 years earlier, the part was made for Sean Connery.

Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown gained to Oscar nominations for Judi Dench for Best Actress and for Best Makeup. Shooting on location in the royal palaces and grounds which are nicely preserved from Victoria's time, the film does have the look and feel of Victorian Great Britain and the troubled monarch who reigned over the Empire.

Were she and Brown ever physical? I doubt that very much, the very practical Brown was not a stupid man and would never have pushed his luck that much. But he was a tower of strength for the woman whom he brought out of mourning to take her place which was a large one in the world.

It may be an unwritten rule, but it is clearly understood in upper crust societies that sadness is stoic, while happiness is petty. Mrs. Brown peers into the private life of one of history's most fascinating people, at her most private of times. Following the death of her husband, Queen Victoria goes into a long period of mourning, taking her empire with her. Struggling to hang onto her dearly departed she latches onto his favorite employee, a stable master.

Under the stern eye of her advisors and children, Victoria forms a friendship with the man that transcends anything considered respectable.

Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria to perfection. Even in her most tender moments, she never loses her dignity, nor her presence. Billy Connelly is John Brown, her loyal and trustworthy friend, servant and companion.

The film is beautifully shot, capturing the bleakness that would have been Queen Victoria's life at that time. The writing is first rate, blending a small story with epic events, and detailing the picture with occasional glimpses into the day to day life of the time.

Most impressive about this movie is that it resists the temptation to grasp on to Hollywood cliches. John Brown snubs his nose at the establishment, however he knows his limits. Victoria lets loose, but never at the cost of her station.