Victoria et Albert

Few movies are made that are so flawless. Perfect in: casting, directing, editing, content, costumes, and background music. All performances are believable and the diction is as clear as if it were an American made movie. The main character "Victoria" is played by Victoria Hamilton whose ability to express feelings without speaking is Oscar winning quality plus.

Jonathon, Colin's younger brother, plays the best Albert that I have ever seen in my entire life. If you love period films, such as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park, you will LOVE this film. Victoria Hamilton, from Mansfield Park, made me honestly respect her as a great actress. She brought me to tears by the end of this amazing miniseries!

"Victoria & Albert" examines the life Queen Victoria during the 24 year period from just prior to her coronation as Queen until the passing of her husband, Albert. Although this historical biopic spends precious little time with romance, it does dwell most on the relationship between the couple as they go about the business of working to bring dignity to a tarnished monarchy while raising a family and doing what royal couples do. Hamilton makes a solid centerpiece for this 3.5 hour miniseries which sports a capable ensemble and very good production value. If "V&A" has a liability, it is, perhaps, that the life of the Queen was not quite as interesting as the fictional lives of the characters from the more popular novels of the same period. Worth a look for those with an interest in Queen Victoria, the British monarchy, and the period. (B)

I'm a BBCminiseries-aholic. I can watch even the most tedious efforts from the 70s and find them entertaining enough to watch several times. So it is no surprise that I like this. For my enjoyment, the biggest stumbling block of this miniseries is the casting of Victoria. To be fair, Victoria Hamilton (Victoria) is an actress I just don't care for. I've seen her in several things, and I just don't connect with her screen presence. She is a fine actress, always emotionally "present," but I do feel that I see the same 3 emotions over and over – happy, sad, fussy. She is omnipresent through this piece, so… there you have it. She is lovely as the coming-of-age Victoria, but the biggest problem here is that she is not believable playing much over the age of 25.

This is a film that would have benefited immensely by double casting the leads/ breaking half way through to change them to older actors. (And one horrible mistake is opening and closing the film with an elderly wheelchair-bound Victoria – played by another actress – whose eyes are bright blue, and Hamilton's are brown.) Hamilton simply does not grow up enough, despite costumes and makeup.

Jonathan Firth (Albert) also suffers from the various age make-ups, fares much better, and brings more complexity to his role. He is always exceptional, and his role here is sympathetic, even when behaving badly, but he does look as if he had just finished crying during a lot of this film… a bad allergy season, perhaps? He also does not make the transition to age believably.

Because of this, what makes this piece tick, run, and flow is the exquisite supporting cast. This is always the case with these BBC/A&E productions, and it may be what is really their core secret. People a town with geniuses, and any idiot can run the place…. Well, that is what they do with their actors. Penelope Wilton has the standout performance as a desperate, emotional, miscalculating Queen Mum. David Suchet is simply perfect, and so far from Poirot you need to remind yourself that this is the same actor. Diana Rigg and Nigel Hawthorne also lend gravitas to production.

This production also features some really beautiful castle/historic locations, but this one is probably only for those who are addicted to the anglo-miniseries. (Almost exclusively indoor and talky, so boys will probably feel as pent up and useless as Albert did.)

All pictures of Victoria have her as a stern, humorless woman.

This program did manage to shed some light on the real person and quite a bit I did not know.

I was not aware she was the niece of the previous king, thereby not directly in the bloodline, but simply next in line.

I think I had heard she was eighteen when she became queen, but I had forgotten.

And I wasn't aware of the problems with her mother and the uncle on her mother's side.

Sensational when she became her majesty, the Queen of England in their presence and they said no more.

Moments of what it means to be queen and what it means to be married were especially strong here;

when she had to respond to Albert as his wife and not as his queen.

And especially Albert's surprise when the Queen and not his wife honored him for that architectural structure.

I especially enjoyed dear Richard Briers, who never disappoints, as the architect.

When Albert informed him that the Queen had entered, Briers looks up and merely replies 'evening, mum' then continues to beam at his designs.

Her Majesty simply smiled and went to stand with her husband.

Performances were flawless all the way around. I do think Diana Rigg was wasted as the nanny. I've never enjoyed her as an unhappy person, but always in control.

I caught it on A & E, and didn't keep it. Now I wish I had. Ah well.