A Royal Affair
Mads Mikkelson is certainly the man of the moment. Hailing over from Denmark, this sultry voiced actor has the Western World by his phenomenal grip. Not only appears as the violent and manipulate psychopath in NBC’s Hannibal but he has also impressed with stellar turns in the movies such as The Hunt and Casino Royale. This year sees him appear in hotly anticipated movies such as Charlie Countryman and return as the titular cannibalistic role as before. Yes, this great Dane has us all in some kind of spell. That’s not a bad thing, because thankfully, he is super talented.
Here in A Royal Affair, he is truly spellbinding.
This Danish Period Drama is exactly how a period drama should be, pardon the pun, executed. Starring Mikkelson alongside actress Alicia Vikander (Anna Kernina, The Fifth Estate,) it tells the story of Princess Countess Matilda of Great Britain. She is married off to the King Christian of Denmark who is actually a petulant child who treats her as worthless, drinking and fucking prostitutes wherever he sees fit. Used as merely a birthing tool, when Christian befriends Doctor Struensee, Matilda falls in love with him and the two start an illicit affair. But more tensions rise when Struensee’s political views come under question as the aristocracy fears he may push for a fairer benevolent power. Can their love survive?
The fear for A Royal Affair is a big one. After all, plunging into the past to produce some corseted stories about women conducting affairs that were improper because of class and stature has been done; trotted out like show ponies over a stately park. The difference here, it isn’t proper and it is very real. The human element is key and our players are empathic with the roles they are given, ooze not only unwarranted passion but happiness, glee and depression all rolled up into one. Rather than this pouting Knightley affair, it’s more about Matilda struggling to get a handle on her situation and Struensee balancing his views and his new friendship with Christian as well as his relationship with her. Mikkleson and Vikander are devilishly good here as is Mikkel Folsgaard as Christian. They are entrancing people.
The movie is also stunning. Picturesque beauty comes always with period melodrama but this Oscar Nominated movie is breath-taking, truly taking you into the heart of the era and captivating you with colours, costumes and more. Director Nikolaj Arcel has an astute eye for all things ravishing and A Royal Affair is voluptuous and juicy, teaming with visuals that will have you earning for more.
It is a married effort of the actors, the story and the cinematography that has your heart beat racing. And as the drama unfolds, you find it is less about the affair and more about a woman confined to a life of a misery, a man so inside his own head he has to fake insanity and a man who cares for a nation. Political, emotional and wrought, A Royal Affair is an astonishing movie.