Here's a description of the movie from Amazon.com:"Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend star in the lavish historical drama, THE YOUNG VICTORIA. Resolved to establish her authority over those who rule in her stead, a young and inexperienced Queen Victoria (Blunt) draws strength from the love of Albert (Friend), the handsome prince who’s stolen her heart. Based on the courtship and early reign of England’s longest-serving monarch, THE YOUNG VICTORIA is a majestic tale of romance, intrigue and power."
My Review:
The Young Victoria is a love story. The movie involves political intrigue, a beautiful setting, grand music, and gorgeous costumes. But the lasting impact of the movie comes from the powerful portrait of the love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The romance starts gently, beginning with an awkward but adorable first encounter and blooming into correspondence between trusting friends. Throughout the movie the romance builds, overwhelming the viewer with both its innocence and its abiding passion. I loved the lessons of partnership, perseverance, and especially humility. There was certainly much to learn from Victoria's own journey to maturity.
I confess that I don't know exactly how closely the movie follows the actual facts of Queen Victoria's life, but I did appreciate the way the movie drew me into history. Everything was quite elegant and proper, and yet emotional tension reigned enough to hold my interest.
I also loved that Queen Victoria was shown to be a real person. That is to say, she made mistakes and had to learn from them. She fought with her mother. She quarreled with Albert. She upset the people of her country. And yet, her growth both in knowledge and in willingness to listen were visible. I loved when someone told her that she was mistaking stubbornness for strength--something we as the viewers could be aware of in our own lives.
In the end, it seemed as though the movie might be rather short for the sweeping story it was trying to convey. It felt like there was so much more that could be said. However, I think it wouldn't have been quite as powerful if it hadn't emphasized only this one short period of her life. I really enjoyed the movie and was delighted with the message it shared about true love.
Note: "Mondays for the Military" will hopefully resume again next week with our first visitor from the military. I'm really excited to see where this feature goes!
19 comments:
You know, I've never seen this movie but after reading your review it sounds like the perfect thing to curl up and watch on a blustery, rainy fall day. Think I'll have to see if my library has any copies.
I absolutely love this movie, so happy you enjoyed it as well! You might also like the A&E miniseries Victoria & Albert, which is a more extensive look at their lives together.
Not a movie that would normally interest me but your review was good. :O)
I loved this movie it's definitely one of my very favorites! I'm glad you liked it!
XOXO~ Renee
Kav,
I think you would enjoy it! :) I had heard of it before, especially on Bluerose's blog on one of her "Sweet Movie Madness" posts, so I decided to buy it on iTunes. I curled up with my laptop on my bed and watched it on Saturday night when my roomie was gone. It was well-done and very sweet!
~Amber
Ruth,
Yes, it was very good! :) Thank you for the suggestion--some miniseries can be very good (and longer, which is great!).
Thanks for stopping by!
~Amber
Diane,
We all have different tastes, for sure! ;) No worries. I know some of the things I like would bore or annoy others (ie: Bonanza, which I love!).
I'm glad you liked the review, though! :D Hope you enjoy it if you ever do decide to give it a try!
~Amber
Renee,
We definitely have similar tastes, don't we? ;) I really did enjoy this one!
~Amber
AHHHHHHH!!!!
Amber, I loved, loved, loved this movie!! LOL! Seriously....saw it on the bus to the airport this summer and it. Was. PHENOMENAL! Thank you so much for doing a review on it *grin*
Let me know how A Memory Between Us is....I really want to read it!
Talk to you later,
Hannah
Hannah,
I like your enthusiasm! :D I agree that it was a great movie! Beautifully done!
As for A Memory Between Us, I'm really enjoying it so far! I'm reading it for LitFuse Publicity, so be looking for my review on October 12! ;)
~Amber
Bahahahah!!!! YES! I do have enthusiasm *grin*
Watching some Grey's AT HOME right now....on a chilly, rainy, fall evening. Perfection! Cept, I'm really feeling like reading.....
Ah well, gotta get to some homework still : )
Talk to you later,
Hannah
I loved this movie, too, and even my husband liked it :). Did you finish Petra yet? I think you were reading that, right? I should write Ms. Higley an email and tell her how much I enjoyed it.
I love your Sundays by the Sea and I'm really looking forward to Military Mondays. I agree, go wherever your passions lie. I'm in awe of all your great ideas on this blog.
I'm sorry that I haven't posted the award you gave me yet. We're trying to make up the time we missed homeschooling while I was on jury duty so things are a bit hectic right now.
Hope you have a great week!
Amber,
Have you noticed that Renee, her blog, and even Blogger profile seem to have disappeared from the face of the Earth?? I know she said her Hotmail and Gmail accounts had been hacked into....but she thought the Gmail one had gotten figured out....now you can't get into any of her stuff. Do you think it's because of the hackers? What bad timing!! Lol...
Hannah
Great review! My sentiments exactly. I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning watching this movie on my aunt's iPad (which was an experience, for sure). My only gripe with the movie was that I'm not the biggest fan of Rupert Friend. I think the 2005 Pride and Prejudice may have ruined him for me.
Hannah,
I hope you had fun watching T.V. (and maybe even reading!), and I hope you were able to get your homework done! ;)
As far as Renee's blog, I think it's back up and running again, right? Sorry I didn't respond sooner! :( I'm sick right now (just a cold, but being congested is not fun), but I got a lot done on Tuesday, so that horrible stress is gone for now! ;)
Talk to you later!
~Amber
Julia,
That's great that your husband liked it, too! ;) I actually had read part of the first page of Petra, but I set it aside for the moment. I'm sure I will get around to it soon; I think lately I've been having a hard time choosing what I want to read first out of my rather big stack of books yet to be reviewed! ;) I know I'll love it when I read it, though!
Thank you for your support--I really appreciate your encouraging words! :) I'm so glad you like the features I have right now, and I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on my latest idea (Wednesday's post).
Oh, and no rush on the award post! It's no problem; it's definitely important to prioritize your time. :)
Thank you for stopping by!
~Amber
MissBlack,
Thank you; I'm so glad we agree! ;) I know what you mean about Rupert Friend, although I'm glad to see that he got to be a character we love this time (unlike his character in Pride and Prejudice). :) Loved his character in this movie!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
~Amber
I saw this one at the theater with my MIL, and we fell in love with it. Their love story was simply beautiful...it just makes you want to share a happy sigh. :o)
If you haven't heard of it, there's a BBC(?) miniseries about them called Victoria and Albert that was excellent. You may want to check it out for a more in-depth story of their lives.
~Christy
Christy,
Isn't their story beautiful? :D The movie was great, and I 'm so glad to hear you loved it, too!
Someone else mentioned something about the miniseries in the comments, so I'll have to keep that in mind! Thank you for the suggestion!
~Amber
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