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"The Crown"

 It seems strange for Peter Morgan to retell the story of "The Queen," via "The Crown." Poor Imelda Staunton has to compete with Helen Mirren's iconic performance--and she has to do this with a less polished script, in a tighter span of storytelling time. Morgan has lost interest in Tony Blair, I guess, so the Blair speeches get re-purposed as Prince Charles speeches. (Also, some of the Tony Blair work gets pawned off on Princess Diana's ghost!)


One thing I liked was Morgan's interest in William and Harry (who are basically missing from the movie).

We know that these kids have affection for their mom; we see this in an early scene, as the three drive around, listening to "Tubthumping." Diana pours ice down her older son's back; William (somewhat implausibly) mocks a grown man's choice of clothing. (In a little conspiracy-of-two, William and Diana laugh about Dodi's moccasins). In another nice choice, Diana affectionately teases William about having been "blooded" after the killing of a stag; it's clear that the ritual repels Diana, but because she loves her son, she can enjoy a vicarious sense of his own excitement.

It's these early scenes that help to add weight to the death of Diana. The post mortem "cranky Prince Philip" speeches don't captivate me--because I've already heard these speeches, via James Cromwell, in "The Queen." But I like the minute in which William silently eavesdrops on a conversation between his grandparents; William is understandably enraged that he needs to make a public show of mourning, "for the good of the people." It's also intriguing that he disappears, for fifteen hours, in the wilds of Scotland.

I'm eager for Part Two, and I'll have my eyes on William and Harry.
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