At first glance A Royal Affair seems to be one of those lavishly worthy historical dramas such as Young Victoria or The Duchess, which are put together with incredible skill and attention to detail but are often lacking in the gripping story department. So I was fully expecting it to be a film that I would admire more than I would enjoy. But I’m happy to report to that not only is this a sumptuously atmospheric and visually dazzling recreation of the past; it’s also a poignantly romantic, tightly scripted and hugely enjoyable exploration of a time and place with which many British viewers will be unfamiliar.
It’s the late 16th century and the Enlightenment is sweeping through Europe. However Denmark remains firmly unenlightened, mainly due to the fact that’s run by the young King Christian (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), who is a foppish idiot of Hugh Laurie in Blackadder III proportions, and his council of religious zealots. Bearing the brunt of the King’s boorish, philandering ways is his new young queen Caroline (Alicia Vikander), recently arrived from England and soon resigned to a life of abuse and neglect, where her only purpose is to produce and raise the King’s heirs.
When radically free-thinking German doctor Johan Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen) becomes the royal couples’ personal physician, he intends to educate and manipulate Christian and sculpt him into an enlightened king for an enlightened age. He doesn’t intend to fall madly in love with the Queen and embark on a passionate illicit affair with her, but he does because if he didn’t, the title wouldn’t make any sense.
It’s a gripping drama that manages to flawlessly mix romance and political intrigue in a way that’s completely engrossing. And this is proper grown-up tragic romance not the syrupy kind aimed at soppy teenagers in the likes of The Notebook or Twilight. It centres around two people who know there being together could not only lead to them being executed but also to their country collapsing. but despite their best efforts their unable to stay apart.
The fact that there’s an almost 25 year age gap between the two leads is disconcerting at first but they’re both playing the characters at various stages of their lives, so it doesn’t seem too strange. They both give fantastic performances, especially Mikkelsen, who’s incredibly charismatic as the cool-headed revolutionary who gets angered and disturbed when he finds himself distracted by love. Perhaps the most impressive performance is by Følsgaard, as over the course of the story he manages to turn the King from a detestable spoiled moron into a sympathetic spoiled moron, while he struggles to grow up and take responsibility for his country. It’s really surprising to learn that this is his first film role.
It’s also surprising to learn that this is only Nikolaj Arcel’s fourth feature film as director and that he’s best known in Scandinavia as a screenwriter. In fact he wrote the screenplay for the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. He and cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk give A Royal Affair a deep, painterly visual sense that frames the enthralling drama perfectly. All in all A Royal Affair is the perfect way to spend an afternoon and comes highly recommended.
Overall Verdict: A gripping, emotional and visually stunning historical drama that shows most recent British efforts how it’s done.
Special Features:
Interviews with cast and director
Trailer
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon