my humble opinion on 'The Young Victoria'

only yesterday I told my friend that I would be happy to watch something about the Victorian times, or at least something describing Europe of the 19th - early 20th century

to my surprise, I had 'The Young Victoria' already downloaded. this is not exactly what I wanted to watch, as it doesn't show much of the daily life of ordinary people, but surely the epoch is exactly what I wanted

plot, characters and acting

as far as I understand, there weren't too many mistakes and anachronisms to spoil the general atmosphere. even for me who knows almost nothing about those times and those people, everything looks credible and... smooth? I mean, nothing pops out to ruin your impression

the characters were the more interesting that I read that Victoria and Albert were a dual pair of ESE (ESFj) and LII (INTj) respectively. now that I watched the film I can say this version seems truly realistic...

well, this is not the main question. were they or not, I enjoyed the love story greatly. the relationship between them was never overemphasized, never too luscious, never changed to please that part of the audience which demands 'pure romance' where there is nothing else but the romance and everything has its meaning only applying to the romance. in other words, Victoria and Albert were living people, not just random moving dolls following the will of the screenplay writers, directors, etc. well, yes, there are some scene that are inaccurate from the historical point of view, but I can't say they spoil the movie

my favourite point is when Victoria insists on helping her people stating that this is what she thinks a duty of a queen, and once she mentions the ideas that Albert shared with her. was it a real duality, or not, the fact that those two were mutually supporting each other and offering invisible assistance is subject to no doubts

and maybe... also... no, surely, I loved it when Victoria summoned Albert to England and almost proposed herself to him... ^^` a strange couple but so touching

oh, and also I loved how Albert reacted after hearing about Lord Melbourne '...he puts the interests of England above those of Europe... ...And he wouldn't spill one drop of English blood to save a foreign throne'. and Albert answers 'But why would he want to save a foreign throne if it wasn't in England's interest?' - ohhhh so very logical... 

oh and the last part - the subtle humor. not the LOL kind, but the one that makes you slightly smile. like that of the first meeting of Victoria and Albert - after he sees she understood that he only says what's necessary to say naming his favourite composer and opera the same as hers, he makes his move - 'and Schubert. perhaps you don't like him but I do'

on the other hand, 'tis really important that the Victoria-Albert line was cleverly mixed with other ones. Victoria opposing John Conroy, Victoria at the King's birthday, Victoria worried about her coronation, Victoria starting her queen 'career', Victoria thinking about the common people, Victoria discussing political matters, everything is shown in such a way that we can understand how things worked those days and more importantly - how Victoria felt

as for other characters, I don't want to speak long of them, but all of them were deep, that's what I want to mark. no odd ones, no unnecessary characters and no unnecessary things they did, and no and no false looks on their faces. every one of them was worthy of seeing and understanding

Victoria's mother - a story of misunderstanding, estrangement, hate and reconciliation

Conroy - a story of searching for the meaning of life

Lehzen - a story of selfless love and loyalty verging on control

King - a short story, but not unimportant, of complicated relationships inside the royal family and the anxiety about the motherland

Queen Adelaide - a wise woman perfectly capable of using her knowledge to the support of the young queen

ladies-in-waiting - not uttering a lot of lines, but supporting their queen

Albert's brother - not indifferent, but wishing best for his brother

Stockmar - a true advisor on many things

well maybe I've forgotten someone else?

a couple of words about acting - flawless. oh, that's not a couple, that's one word...

costumes

'tis not often for me to enjoy clothes of the characters THAT much. really, I admired all of them. not only Victoria's and not only woman 

among Victoria's this is my favourite. I was especially fascinated by the berries on the top

music

a perfectly fitting collection of both classical pieces - Swan Song, as if written specially for this film - and OST. enjoyable, that's all

conclusion

the pace of the film is not very fast, so this is by no means an action or adventure. instead, a film to enjoy, to be absorbed in, very smooth... again this word comes to mind. well, probably I can't help it, as it really is smooth