The Young Victoria

Rating: 5
Genre: Drama
Starring: Emily Blount, Rupert Friend

At the time of her death in 1901, Queen Victoria had reigned some 60 years. The British Empire covered 25% of the world land surface, and an equal proportion of the world’s population was brought under some form of British rule. She is truly a historic figure. But this movie is not about the imperial hubris of the Victorian Age. Rather, it is confined to the courtship and marriage of young Victoria and her cousin Prince Albert. As such, many people will enjoy seeing the pomp and pageantry of mid 19th century Britain. My guess is it will have a hard time winning a very large share of the movie-going audience. It seemed slow moving and a bit boring. I had trouble picking up the dialogue and figuring out who’s who among the various characters. By the way, if you’ve ever seen a portrait of Queen Victoria, it’s hard to imagine she ever looked anything like Emily Blount.