Mrs. Brown (1997)

Highlanders are good for the health

Prince Albert is dead and Queen Victoria (Dench) is inconsolable). The servants don't know what to do. No one can get her out of her mourning.

Because her husband was so fond of him, Victoria sends for John Brown (Billy Connolly), a Scotsman who was one of her husband's attendants. Being a stubborn Scot, he doesn't take 'no' for an answer and waits out in the courtyard until Her Majesty finally decides to go out on a pony ride. Gradually, they develop a friendship--or is it more? That's a question asked by historians and fans of the royal family throughout the years.

Meanwhile, there's a political struggle going on. The Prime Minister (Antony Sher) wants the Queen back in the reins. Bertie, the Prince of wales, (David Westhead) is anxious to take the reins from his Mum. Meanwhile, the rumors about the Queen and Brown are flying and as one pol says to another: "This country runs by talk..."

There's a lot of speculation both in the film and out about the relationship between Queen Victoria and John Brown. She was a favorite of mine and I honestly hope she did have some comfort after her husband's death.

Whatever the film is historically, it's an amazing costume drama from both what the characters wear and the landscape behind them. Dench and Connolly do a superlative job in their respective roles. Dame Judi has played two of Great Britain's queens to date and she's quite regal in both.

I've seen this film several times and every time I note something different. In this case, it's Archie Brown, John's younger brother who is played quite ably by none other than Gerard Butler.

Rebecca Kyle, July 2008 July 4, 2008

Her Majesty & Company never looked so good

The irrepresible Dame Judi Dench was truly launched as an international star in this film. Her brooding, angry portrayal of Queen Victoria stands out today, an age when queens abound like bunnies. Of crucial importance to this film is the portrayal of John Brown by Billy Connolly, truly his greatest film work. He was robbed of an Oscar here, only because this is an Exon-Mobil television production. The ambience, almost creepy until one recalls it's HER era (Vioctorian), is enthralling; dark, misty, then sunny, first at the Isle of Wight then at Balmoral... one can truly smell and taste the film. The relationship of Queen Victoria with John Brown is true to life as far as historians can tell. That's not an easy thing, when one considers this was a Mobil-Exxon production. One thing's for sure: the film gives Merchant-Ivory a run for its money, and Billy Connolly would never again attain the heights he reached here. June 16, 2008

Great Movie for a Royal Watcher

Great movie. Dame Judi Dench is one of the classiest and best actors of our time. She carries herself well and seems to closely portray the life of HM Queen Victoria. Great movie to add to your collection if you enjoy movies on the lives of royals both past and present. January 29, 2008

Just dont waste your time or money

How can you say Boring quickly? Borrring! Terrible. Billy connelly was the light in the film. Judy Dench was good in her role, but her role seems the same in every film you ever see with her. Gerard Butler, well um, it was interesting the jumping in the water scene. Every little bit, yet seemed excited to be in a film. The writing was so, so and the acting not so good. As for the historical significance, it was a bit murky. December 30, 2007

Was Victoria Amused?

British director John Madden's well-done 1997 opus stars Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria, the woman of an era, and concentrates on an unlikely (and almost certainly platonic) relationship that arose during her darkest years, those that came in the time between Albert's passing in 1861 and before the resurgence of royal popularity after her Golden Jubilee in 1887.

As Mrs. Brown opens, we are confronted with an emotionally-weakened Queen Victoria who is unlike the iconic figure of popular memory. Having retreated into depression and mourning, the seldom-seen Victoria's popularity is declining, and with it a vocal minority among her loyal subjects have begun to speak out about the relevance of a monarchy in a modern industrialized democracy. Though always a woman of duty, Victoria dwells in isolation, with one of her few contacts being the charming Conservative Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, well-portrayed here by Antony Sher, whose attempts to coax his queen back into London society meet with limited success.

Into this predicament comes a Scotsman named John Brown, Victoria's personal servant and eventually her friend and confident during this time spent mostly in self-imposed exile at the royal estate at Balmoral. Brown, played here by the magnificently larger-than-life Billy Connolly, was a plain-spoken, rugged outdoorsman, whose loyalty and lack of formality led to a greater closeness with the queen than had existed with any man save the late Prince Albert. While as we see in this film, Victoria came to rely more and more on this rustic Scot, insiders at court, particularly the heir to the throne, Prince Edward, grew alarmed at the influence Brown might be exerting, and also speculated at the propriety of it all. As word leaked of the close bond shared by the sovereign and her servant, rumors percolated and some took the step of calling Victoria by the mocking title of "Mrs. Brown".

John Madden is at his best directing pieces set in the past and nowhere is this more true than here. This movie utilizes an exceptionally talented cast and takes full advantage of its setting in the Scottish high country, and overall the mid-Victorian era is reproduced with a careful tidiness that lends a great deal of realism to a subject that is in many ways based on guesswork and prying speculation. Although Mrs. Brown lacks wide appeal and hasn't found its way onto many best-of film lists, it is a five-star production with very few noticeable flaws. I enjoyed seeing it in Boston when it first came out during its sadly limited theater run, and haven't regretted buying it on DVD. It's the kind of motion picture that should more often get made.
September 4, 2007

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