[A ROYAL AFFAIR
opens in Cleveland on Wednesday November 21st exclusively at the
Cedar Lee Theatre.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
In the late 1700s a king, a queen, and
a doctor form a tragic love triangle that has far reaching social and
political ramifications in A ROYAL AFFAIR.
The story begins when Queen Caroline (Alicia Vikander) agrees to
marry King Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Følsgaard), seeing it as
the culmination of everything she was raised for. However she is
unprepared for the King's erratic behavior and callous treatment of
her. After dispensing with her most important duty as queen,
providing Christian with a male heir, Caroline does her best to live
her own life. Christian lives his own life as well, setting out on a
tour of Europe that mostly involves getting drunk and visiting
prostitutes.
Many
in the court believe the King is insane, but based on what we see
it's just as likely that he's bored at not having anything to do.
That changes when his new personal physician Doctor Johann Friedrich
Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) begins sharing his enlightenment era ideas
with both King and Queen. With Struensee's encouragement, the King
finds the backbone to start making actual decisions about his
kingdom. Struensee shares more than just ideas with Caroline, and the
two embark on a passionate affair. All three work together to bring
progressive ideas to the Danish government, but as they disrupt the
status quo it's no surprise that they make enemies along the way. And
with Struensee's lack of discretion, it's not hard for those enemies
to learn of the affair and use it against him.
All
this is more or less a true story, although being a bit rusty on my
Danish history this reviewer can't speak to its accuracy. Regardless,
A ROYAL AFFAIR offers
a compelling story brought to life with considerable visual aplomb by
director/co-writer Nikolaj Arcel and cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk.
There are several stunningly beautiful shots in the film that
wouldn't be out of place framed and hanging on a museum wall, but the
film is just as capable of conveying the down and dirty side of late
18th century Europe. It's somewhat less successful at conveying the
heat and passion in the central love story between Caroline and
Struensee – the chemistry is there between the performers, but the
way it plays out on screen often feels stiff and distant.
Fortunately
the film offers plenty of interest to make up for its less than
sizzling romance, giving each of its principal characters strong
individual arcs. Struensee goes from doctor of the people to
practically being King himself, growing careless with his newfound
power. Christian may well have some mental issues, but he's more
bored and insecure than anything else. His friendship with Struensee
gives him confidence and, at least for a while, allows him to enjoy
life. As for Caroline, even though to a large extent she serves
mainly as our point of view, recounting the events of the film in a
letter to her children, we get to see her grow as well. Sheltered and
naïve when we first meet her, by the end of the film she knows all
too well how the game is played. 3 out of 4 stars.
As Published on Examiner.com
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