Tags
A Royal Affair, Alicia Vikander, Danish Movies, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, movies, Nikolaj Arcel
A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician – and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.
– IMDb
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard
Language: Danish
This movie was excellent in every aspect. The actors, the locations, the dialogues each & everything contributed to the sheer brilliance which was A Royal Affair.
What I liked:
- Mads Mikkelsen: He was the main reason why I downloaded this movie. And he didn’t disappoint. Dr. Johann Struensee is a German doctor who gets appointed as the personal physician for the Danish King Christian VII. Armed with many modern ideas he has a great deal of influence on the King & manages to bring about a great many changes to the country. This naturally upsets the council. His problems are complicated when his affair with the Queen is discovered. Mads’s acting where Caroline tells Johann about being pregnant & the need to be with King once more cannot be described in words. The hurt, the helplessness are all there in his face for anyone to see & your heart tears up for this man who loves this woman so much but cannot be united with her.
- Mikkel Boe Følsgaard: He is brilliant as the Mad King. When I had read the summary I had assumed the King’s insanity would be in his cruelty. But this King was truly mad. I loved Mikkel & Mads’s bonding as the doctor – patient turned best buddies. Christian didn’t seem so mad when he warned Struensee indirectly about the consequences of an affair with the Queen. I was also extremely surprised to see him so accepting of Struensee’s relationship with Caroline.
- There was not a single boring moment in the movie. The movie was well paced. The sets, the palaces, the locales added to the visual experience. The costumes too were spot on.
- It was great to know that Fredrick took back what was his & ushered in a new era for Denmark following Struensee’s & his mother’s ideals.
What I did not like:
- Alicia Vikander: She was OK in the role but they could have gotten anyone better than her for the role. Many of the Queen’s key moments could have gone much better with a better actress.
- After seizing power from Christian why did Juliane leave Fredrick & his sister alive? Was she uncomfortable with the idea of killing children? Or was her main concern getting power for her son & herself but without causing too much harm to her stepson?
I have no idea about how accurate this movie was in terms of real history but I loved the story as was shown in the movie. Though it was heart breaking to see Johann & Caroline not get their happily ever after, while the Royal Affair lasted, it must have been the most beautiful relationship of that time, enhanced because the couple loved each other so much & that is so rare even today.
A 5/5 for A Royal Affair.
