A Royal Affair (2012): Doomed Danish Doings

A Royal Affair was Denmark’s entry in the 2012 Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category  (losing the Oscar to Amour, in a weak field). Based on historical fact, it tells the story of the late 18^th century romance between young Danish Queen Caroline Mathilde, wife of King Christian VII, and the King’s personal physician, Johann Struensee. And it relates the story known as the Time of Struensee, during which this German doctor actually took over the reins of government, and briefly brought Enlightenment reforms to backward Denmark-Norway.

The King, you see, was mentally ill, or “mad”, as they used to say. Caroline Mathilde, sister to England’s George III, left home at age 15 to marry the Danish King, whom she had never met. However, the King did not like her, preferring his dogs and his mistress to a wife. The king also did not care for governance, and was incapable in any case; so the country was run by a cabal of nobles and clergy, most conservatively.  The Queen, young, neglected, an outsider, was understandably unhappy. Herr Doktor Struensee was recruited to take charge of Christian, and did such a good job, that he was moved into the palace, to better manage his patient. The king liked him, and, as time passed, the lonely queen and Johann were drawn to one another.  Pretty good story, no?

 

Indeed, the tale is so interesting that it carries the film.  I say this because A Royal Affair is not a great

film, although it relates the historical story quite well.  On the plus side, it paints a vivid picture of the antique royal court and milieu into which young Princess Caroline Matilda was thrust, and of the palace intrigues and power struggles within that world. The sets and the costuming seem spot on – not lavish as we might imagine the court of Louis XIV must have been – but elegant and fusty and, to Caroline, through whose eyes we see this world, oppressive.

The most wonderful thing in the film is the portrayal of the unbalanced King Christian, played by young newcomer Mikkel Boe Følsgaard.  At the time of his wedding to Caroline, Christian himself is only seventeen and has only just been crowned king. Even in his right mind, we might expect a little, shall we say immaturity?  The beauty of Følsgaard‘s performance is how subtly he plays this.  His young monarch is not-over-the top crazy, but rather a kind of childish dull-normal, punctuated with spontaneous bursts of over-the-top immaturity  and very occasional pure nuttiness.. He actually becomes a sympathetic, if pathetic, character.  If this were an American film, Følsgaard would have been nominated for best supporting actor, no question.

Twenty-four year old Alicia Vikander is fine as Caroline Mathilde. She got decent reviews for playing Kitty in last year’s Anna Karenina (which I have not yet seen), and her star is definitely on the rise, with four new feature films in the works. She is attractive, but not gorgeous, which probably works to her advantage. Here, her Caroline starts out intelligent, but innocent and fragile, and grows into the role of a frustrated but wiser, yet determinedly passionate young queen with both warmth and grit. Nevertheless, the movie is less about her than about her lover, Johann.

To me, Mads Mikkelsen, as Johann Struensee, tips this film from fine to just fair. Mikkelson is the biggest star in the cast. He played the protagonist in the excellent After The Wedding (2006), was memorable as the villain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006) and the resistance fighter Citronen in Flame and Citron (2008).  With his fine chiseled features, high forehead and square jaw, he is certainly handsome. But he is relatively expressionless – which worked in his favor in the Bond movie, but here, in what is a love story and moral/poltical drama, this characteristic proves a serious deficit.  Mikkelsen has the same determined look on his face whether he is comforting his deranged patient, facing up to his political enemies, or making love to the young Caroline Mathilde. I found his graven countenance unsympathetic and, in fact, off-putting. ‘C’mon,’ I silently implored, ‘React dammit!’  Sadly, he heeded not my exhortations for most of the film, although, credit where credit is due, there is a moment near the end, in which Johann finally realizes the fate in store for him, where he does react with a lovely, subtle take that is just perfect – not enough to save the film, but still.

I also found the pacing of A Royal Affair, particularly in the second part after the affair has commenced, to be uneven and unduly slow.  As I said earlier, however, the fascinating story triumphs over the execution. I should also note that some people whose sensibilities I respect really liked this movie, so to some degree my criticisms may be a matter of taste. (Well, not really.  I know I’m right).

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