Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts review: the ultimate primer for Jubilee weekend
As the bunting goes up and street parties creep closer, Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts seeks to capitalise on the hype surrounding The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, providing snapshot of the many facets of Her Majesty’s life.
Composed entirely of archive footage, A Portrait in Parts looks at Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign and all the cultural changes it has encompassed. There’s a lot of time devoted to voice overs from giddy celebs who have curtsied before her, explaining what The Monarch means to them. While largely a pleasant affair, there are some haunting reflections on Britain’s past, such as a TV interview talking about the “danger of interracial breeding” relating to the migration of people from the Caribbean during the 1950s, and a man being slapped outside of a television studio for suggesting that the Queen show more personality in front of the camera.
Mostly, however, it’s a crowd-pleasing mix tape of her achievements and duties, of which there are many. Whatever your opinions on the monarchy, it’s quite something to see an interview with a younger Elizabeth recalling a conversation with Winston Churchill, reminding the viewer how much of modern history she has presided over.
There’s a liberal sprinkling of clips from Netflix’s The Crown, the famous James Bond segment from the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, and numerous comedy sketches involving a lookalike, all of which serve little purpose other than to hammer home her influence on modern culture. It’s nothing you didn’t already know, but it’s a nice stroll down memory lane.
Elizabeth: A Portrait In Parts gets a bit too enthusiastic in its praise at times – she’s compared the Mona Lisa at one point – but as a primer for the long weekend of royal celebrations facing us all, it’s a well appointed tribute.
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts is in cinemas now