Elizabeth – Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s) (2022)

Directed by: Roger Michell | 90 minutes | documentary

In 1952, Elizabeth II became Queen after the death of her father George VI and in 2022 she will be on the throne in the United Kingdom for 70 years. On April 21, 2022, she was also able to blow out 96 candles on her birthday cake. Her 70th anniversary as queen, the “Platinum Jubilee”, should of course not pass unnoticed. The documentary ‘Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s)’ tries to give an interpretation to portray the era of Elizabeth II. But where to start? Her reign begins more or less simultaneously with the rise of television and there is an abundance of images, film and photos, of visits, receptions and events. And with what substantive approach? The world has changed quite a bit in the last 70 years and Elizabeth has been a stable factor in all the turbulent developments. Enough material for up to 70 documentaries, but the makers avoid the really complicated issues. Heavy substantive topics, such as the dismantling of the colonial British Empire and its transformation into a Commonwealth, the partly related decline of Great Britain from a global industrial superpower to a (self-chosen) marginal player in Europe or the modernization of the monarchy institution is largely avoided.

Director Roger Michell and his team behind the scenes have opted for blocks with titles such as “Beginnings” and “Horribilis”, which explore different aspects of her reign and life. The tone and angle of view is light-hearted and at times also ironic. It is also original that the authentic images of Queen Elizabeth are interspersed with film and television clips, including parables by British comedians, ‘The Crown’ and other segments deemed appropriate. The choice of music is also exceptional, Madness’ “Our House” with shots of the palaces and mansions of the Windsors and Fred Astaire’s “Cheek to cheek” with images of Elizabeth’s fanatical love of horse racing. Although it is original and sometimes has a funny effect, some choices are sometimes surprising. Of course there is also a tribute to her husband Prince Philip, who died in 2021 and the bond they had with each other in their long lives.

All in all, the film for the most part ripples on and the happy note is only interrupted sporadically. There are some images of protests during a visit to Dresden, with protesters asking for an apology over the devastating bombing of the city in February 1945 by the Royal Air Force. The private problems of her close relatives – three of her four children are divorced – are briefly discussed, punctuated with images of Windsor Castle burning in 1992. The title card also mentions “Horribilis”, a reference to Elizabeth’s Christmas speech of that year. , in which she spoke of a disaster year (“annus horribilis”), because in the same year 1992 Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. Then something really curious happens: news images of Britons criticizing the Queen’s alleged numbness after Princess Diana’s early death in 1997 are intercut with a film version of the storming of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1917 and a re-enacted scene in which Tsar Nicholas II and his family are about to be murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. This choice was undoubtedly made for effect, but it is historically inaccurate and an inappropriate comparison.

Although interesting at times, the lack of context sometimes makes the images shown confusing. Who are all those people again? And if you’ve just dug up from memory, whatever actor, artist, or other prominent character it was, we’re already gone—never to be seen again. Of course, the various Prime Ministers pass by, but although (hopefully) Winston Churchill and, for example, Tony Blair and the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson will still be recognised, Harold Wilson or Gordon Brown, for example, is much less so for a contemporary audience. And then the documentary sometimes gets a little boring – an endless parade of waving and shaking hands. As if the makers want to emphasize that they actually think the monarchy is a bit silly, but don’t want to throw it in the trash right away, because it looks so nice. As a viewer, the unanswerable question involuntarily creeps in on how many hands the queen must have shook in her life.

It gives a nice picture of how time passes – what stays the same and what changes over all those long years. You don’t get to know much more about Queen Elizabeth. But maybe it’s enough to make her an iconic figure. After 70 years, she is undeniably so. Elizabeth also almost holds the European record: only Louis XIV, the Sun King, was allowed to sit on the French throne for 72 years, but he became it at the age of 4. Elizabeth was in her twenties when she became queen.

The documentary is the very last project of director Roger Michell, before his death in September 2021. At the time of his death, Michell was 65 years old – so Elizabeth was already queen when he was born. This documentary was in post-production at the time of his death and he was not allowed to see the premiere and the actual anniversary. For the enthusiasts: after the credits, fragments of various performances of the national anthem “God Save The Queen” follow.