film review: a royal affair
A Royal Affair brings some history of the Danish monarchy to the big screen. It is set during the Englightenment, a time in eighteenth century Europe where new ideas of reason and rights were beginning to emerge. The film opens with Denmark gaining a new Queen, Caroline (Alicia Vikander) who is bitterly disappointed when she meets her husband, King Christian VII (Mikkel Følsgaard). It quickly becomes clear that Christian has many problems, and the two do not develop a loving relationship.
The ideas of the Enlightenment infiltrate the Danish royal court when the King takes on a new doctor, Johann Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) with strong beliefs. Both King and Queen become close to Johann, and for a while it seems that Denmark will become a model of Enlightenment thinking. However, as Johann’s power grows and he begins a love affair with Caroline, some members of the royal court threaten to derail all the progress and endanger the futures of the Queen and her lover. Johann’s relationship with Christian becomes one of manipulation, and conspiracy theories about Johann abound.
As this movie begins, it is rather uninspiring. It is slow and it takes a while for Vikander as Caroline to demonstrate her acting prowess. The storyline begins to become truly interesting, however, with the arrival of Johann and his radical ideas. He is a likeable character and the scenes in which he leads King Christian to implement reforms are exciting. This is also the time when the audience begins to gain a deeper understanding of Christian. The chemistry between the characters of Johann and Caroline is not anything particularly special, but it does the trick.
Although Queen Caroline wears intricate and beautiful dresses and the royal court are treated to lavish feasts and dances, at its core this film is anything but glamorous. It could perhaps be more accurately described as grim and depressing. The suffering of the central characters is disturbing and there is a sense that more pain is inevitable throughout the whole film. While not a feel-good movie, A Royal Affair is at least interesting. It is a film for anyone who likes their history and doesn’t mind films that are just a tad gloomy.
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