Heavy is the head that wears the crown
The early reign of Queen Elizabeth II is explored in this beautifullycrafted series from Netflix.
AMERICAN-British TV series The Crown is a masterclass in storytelling and filmmaking. I have been completely bowled over by every episode of the 10-part first season which felt like a miniseries rather than an episodic watch. What’s more, each episode was so enjoyable that I wanted to savour the series slowly rather than binge watch.
Created and written by Peter Morgan (writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon among others) and produced by Left Bank Pictures for Netflix, this biographical story inspired by the true story of the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne in Britain is a compelling watch indeed. And who’d have thought that would be the case?
I never quite understood the public devotion to the British monarch in my growing-up years – I was always more fond of the people’s princess Diana, and often viewed Queen Elizabeth as a rather stodgy, upper-crusty sort. Indeed, I never gave much thought to the monarchy or the monarch or what it stood for or meant to the people of Britain, and pretty much anywhere else the British Empire had spread.
This series has been an eye-opener for me – and a beautifully-crafted one at that.
Everything from the storytelling to the cast, cinematography, set design, props, costumes and dialogue is a feast for the senses. And what’s more, it’s come straight to us on Netflix, hot out of the oven, having been released in its entirety on Nov 4. Oh Glorious Gloriana! How I love watching TV these days!
Let me start by saying how perfect the cast is. While Claire Foy fits in the Queen’s shoes impeccably, it is American John Lithgow as Prime Minister Winston Churchill who steals the show.
My first “brush” with Lithgow (now 71), was in 1992 when he starred as a man with a multiple personality disorder in the Brian De Palma movie Raising Cain. It was a creepy role and I have never been able to shake off that image of him. But in The Crown, I no longer saw Lithgow; it was Churchill who came shining through.
The actor manages to inhabit the role so completely, you forget who he is.
On the other hand, I had never heard of British actress Foy, but she too is formidable as Elizabeth, and even manages to say something as trivial as “oh” full of gravitas if the scene requires it. And Jared Harris, who I tend to associ- ate with Prof Moriarty of Sherlock Holmes and have thus stereotyped as a “bad guy”, very quickly got my vote as King George VI. I can wax lyrical about the entire cast – Matt Smith as Prince Philip, Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, Victoria Hamilton as the Queen Mother, Alex Jennings as Duke of Windsor – all turn in outstanding performances, bringing their characters to life with great charisma. Even Pip Torrens as the awful but efficient private secretary Tommy Lascelles is perfect.
The set design, props and costumes and the wonderful cinematography all join forces to add to this series’ quality. The greys of “cold London, brutal London, hellish London” are juxtaposed against the stately colour and opulence of palaces and other residences of the dignitaries featured in The Crown, while wide-angle stylised shots of horses running free on the beaches of Scotland and English meadows, of confetti falling in the streets of Australia or giraffes and elephants roaming in the wilds of Kenya are a delight to watch. (Note: the series was shot mostly in Britain; the African safari scene takes place in South Africa.)
Famous British director Stephen Daldry (of The Hours fame) serves as executive producer on the series and directs Episode One and Two, setting the stage for the entire series. But it is Episode Six, Gelignite, in which the media is highlighted which struck a chord with me. A newspaper gets wind of the relationship between Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend (Ben Miles), and starts publishing articles about it. We get to see a little of how the monarch and government try to “manage” the media, even back then in the 1950s.
As for the story, I kept fact-checking throughout the series (the great thing about technology today is that you can actually do that while watching) and am happy to report that it is pretty darn accurate in its detail – yes, King George VI did have part of his lung removed in Buckingham Palace, and yes, Queen Elizabeth II did throw objects (a racquet and tennis shoes to be precise) at Prince Philip during a marital squabble in Australia!
The story, often told in flashbacks, made me sympathise so much with the little girl who once was Elizabeth Windsor. When King George VI dies unexpectedly, and Elizabeth realises she must step up to the throne more quickly than she ever expected, Queen Mary (her grandmother) reminds her that separating personal indulgen-
ces from duty will come at a price. But that “the Crown must win. Must always win.”
The viewer is reminded of this in every episode, and Foy manages to inject so much pathos into the role that she makes it easy to empathise with her character: a young lady who has this huge responsibility – nay, duty – to God and country thrust upon her.
In Episode 10, when a frustrated, sullen Prince Philip (Smith looks awfully like the real-life Prince Harry) asks Elizabeth to forget for a moment her duty, and be “a living breathing thing – a woman, a sister, a daughter, a wife”, you realise that Elizabeth Windsor gave up those rights the day she put on The Crown.
What a series – it just might revive the people’s love for Britain’s monarch all over! A must watch. Season One of The Crown is now available on Netflix.