The Young Victoria 042010

Before Queen Victoria became one of the, if not the, most beloved monarchs in Britain’s history (her biggest competitor being Queen Elizabeth) she was a young woman. Her father was the brother of the king of England and the king of Belgium. Neither of them had a child so she was the next in line for the throne. Because of this, her mother’s advisor is constantly trying to gain control over her, and her Belgian uncle is trying to arrange her marriage with Albert, a young man that he’s been training since he was a boy to marry Victoria and twist her will toward Belgium’s interests. When he meets her though, he immediately falls head over heels for her and rebels against the King’s intentions.

This is a love story, but I’ll admit I liked it. Emily Blunt does an excellent job of playing Victoria as simultaneously regal and unsure of herself. This is also a frequently untold portion of Victoria’s life. History class doesn’t touch on the failures of her early years and instead just goes straight to why she’s remembered, which is the point of history class but it makes it seem less real. And less interesting. The real star of this movie though is the guy who played Prince Albert. I’ve been told he was in Pride and Prejudice but I didn’t know that. I don’t know how accurate the story about Albert and Victoria is but the things that Albert put up with and did for Victoria because he loved her is incredibly admirable. Guys who watch this will respect him and most girls will fall in love with him. Really great guy.

The negative. It moves really, slow. This is expected; historical drama and a romance not a whole lot of time for pacing. There’s some disjointed aspects of the plot but again, expected; real story.

I really don’t have a whole lot to say for the bad it’s few and far between. The negative is really just the simple fact that it’s not for everyone. Some will think it’s boring others will find it dumb, and others won’t be able to admit that they liked it. I did. For a date movie, this is a good choice, girls will really like it and guys won’t mind it too much or maybe even like it. B.