Young Victoria

3 stars (out of 4)

Released 2009

After being impressed with Emily Blunt’s performance in The Jane Austen Book Club, I followed Netflix’s suggestion that I try this movie.

This film focuses on the few years around Queen Victoria’s coronation, including how she chooses her husband and how she learns to hold on to power.  The story is at times told from the perspective of her suitor, Prince Albert, who faces pressure from his uncle, the king of Belgium, to win Victoria over.

Although it’s a fairly straightforward story, I was impressed by the ability of the two lead actors to convince us of their genuine attraction, despite the unromantic fact that their match was strategically convenient.  (And after some Wikipedia surfing, it seems the story is fairly historically accurate.)