A Royal Affair (DVD REVIEW)
A Royal Affair
(En kongelig affaere)
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Queen
Plots Coup in 18th Century Costume Drama
If you are a fan of elaborate
costume dramas of Shakespearean proportions, A Royal Affair is likely right up
your alley. Nikolaj Arcel, who wrote the script for the Swedish-language
version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, does double duty this time around,
both directing and adapting Bodil Steensen-Leth’s erotic novel, Prinsesse af
blodet, to the big screen.
The epic tale revolves around the
love triangle which develops when Denmark’s 15 year-old Queen
Caroline (Alicia
Vikander) falls head over heels for a dashing doctor named Johann Friedrich
Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen). This only makes sense since her considerably older
husband she’s just met is not only a clumsy lover but stark raving mad to boot.
She and the Royal physician are not
only attracted to each other, but share some lofty ideals for the long-oppressed
citizenry. So, casting their fate to the wind, the smitten lovebirds soon set
about plotting to overthrow the cuckoo king.
Of course, no monarch takes kindly
to a coup d’etat, and complications ensue. It doesn’t help matters that the
recently-arrived Caroline is a sister of Britain’s King George III, and
Johann is German, which means the insurgency has the potential to turn into an
international incident.
While carrying on their torrid
affair, the pair contemplates ushering in the Age of Enlightenment, a cultural
movement that had already taken hold elsewhere around Europe.
While folks familiar with Danish history might have an idea where this all
leads, it was definitely fun for this uninformed critic to witness the
intriguing play-by-play in the dark as to what was looming just over the
horizon at each tawdry twist and turn.
A lust for power revealing, what
else, but something rotten in the State of Denmark.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R for sexuality and violent images.
In
Danish, French, German and English with subtitles
Running time: 137
minutes
Distributor: Magnolia
Pictures
DVD Extras: Interviews
with Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen and Mickolaj Arcel; and a trailer.
To see a trailer for
A Royal Affair, visit:
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