A Royal Night Out

Happy VE Day!

Filipe Manuel Neto

@FilipeManuelNeto

A taste of freedom, in a film that is almost entirely fictional.

Everyone knows, even those who live in republics, that the life of a person who belongs to royalty is not a normal life. That's why there are so many people who don't understand what these families are like. For a member of royalty, his whole life is guided by his commitment to the duty that binds him to his people. Saying that great power brings great responsibility has the cliché smell, but it perfectly applies. And being a teenager in a royal family can be really exasperating because you never get total freedom. I can say, in a way, that I know this from experience, even though I live in a country that unfortunately adopted the republican regime a hundred years ago.

The film is a work of fiction designed to explore the yearning for freedom of two teenage girls. The action takes place on the day that the Second World War ended in the European theater and shows us the euphoria that took over London that night. Among the people, unrecognizable and well-accompanied, were the two daughters of King George VI, Princess Margaret and her sister Elizabeth, the future Queen of the United Kingdom, a queen that we have recently evoked in a meaningful way at her funeral. That night the princesses enjoyed themselves more freely than usual, but without incidents. What the film shows us is the opposite: the two princesses are going to get into trouble.

The film is extremely entertaining and guarantees good comedy, family style, enjoyable to watch as a family. It's not perfect, there are several problems and an attentive observer will notice several errors such as the fact that no soldier salutes without a cap or bivouac, and that the princesses' dresses are totally at odds with what they could have worn. However, the rest works, the film unfolds pleasantly and the direction does a good job.

The cast contains several well-known names who, on the whole, do a good job. However, it is the interpretations of the two princesses that give strength and beauty to the film. Sarah Gadon is beautiful, has a pleasant resemblance to the real Isabel and has done an excellent job, which harmonizes well her sense of duty (translated in the way she never ceases to look for her sister, fully aware of the gravity of the situation) with her youth. , lack of freedom and desire to live life intensely. But it is Bel Powley that really enchants and captivates us, thanks to the authentic, spontaneous and irreverent way in which she behaves. She is wonderful and does a job that goes beyond her young age and is truly magnificent. Jack Reynor was designed to counterpoint so much pro-monarchy sentiment through the contemptuous way he speaks and expresses himself whenever the subject is the English king or his family. I get the idea, but I wasn't really convinced. Rupert Everett and Emily Watson, greatly underused, have little more to do than look worried.

On a technical level, the film bets almost everything on recreating the historical period, a task in which it had successes and failures. As I said, it is through the details that we can observe the flaws, such as the mistake in choosing the liveries of the palace servants, the use of a ticket machine that did not exist at the time and others. These are minor issues, however. Overall, the film manages to recreate the environment and sets of 1945 well. The cinematography, misty, and night scenes also helped a lot in creating the atmosphere. The soundtrack has a series of songs and jazz and swing hits that can truly delight us.