Mrs Brown Explained

Mrs Brown
Director:John Madden
Producer:Sarah Curtis
Music:Stephen Warbeck
Cinematography:Richard Greatrex
Editing:Robin Sales
Studio:BBC Films
Ecosse Films
Distributor:Miramax International[1] (through Buena Vista International)
Runtime:103 minutes
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Gross:$13 million (US/UK)

Mrs Brown (also released in cinemas as Her Majesty, Mrs Brown) is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was written by Jeremy Brock and directed by John Madden. The film was produced by the BBC and Ecosse Films with the intention of being shown on BBC One and on WGBH's Masterpiece Theatre. However, it was acquired by Miramax and released to unexpected success, going on to earn over $13 million worldwide.

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and released in the United Kingdom on 5 September 1997.[2] Judi Dench won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role; additionally, she was nominated for many other awards for her performance, including the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, but lost both awards to Helen Hunt for her role in As Good as It Gets.

Plot

The film shows the story of a recently widowed Queen Victoria and her relationship with a Scottish servant, John Brown, a trusted servant of her deceased husband, and the subsequent uproar it provoked. Brown had served Victoria's Prince Consort, Prince Albert; Victoria's Household thought Brown might help the Queen who had remained in mourning since the Prince Consort's death in 1861.

In 1863, hoping to subtly coax the Queen toward resuming public life after years of seclusion, Brown is summoned to court. The plan succeeds a little too well for the liking of Victoria's Chief Secretary Sir Henry Ponsonby and The Prince of Wales as well as other members of the Royal Family; the public, press and politicians soon come to resent Brown's perceived influence over Victoria. Brown takes considerable liberties with court protocol, especially by addressing Her Majesty as "woman". He also quickly takes control over the Queen's daily activities, further aggravating the tensions between himself and the Royal Family and servants.

The moniker "Mrs Brown", used both at the time and in the film, implied an improper and perhaps sexual relationship. The film does not directly address the contemporary suspicions that Victoria and Brown had had a sexual relationship and perhaps had even secretly married, though cartoons from the satirical magazine Punch are shown as being passed around in Parliament (one cartoon is revealed to the camera, showing an empty throne, with the sceptre lying unhanded across it).

As a result of Victoria's seclusion, especially at Balmoral Castle in Scotland (something initially encouraged by Brown), her popularity begins failing and republican sentiment begins growing. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's hold over the House of Commons is weakening and there is a fear of rising anti-monarchical sentiment in the country. He convinces Brown to use his influence with Victoria to persuade her to return to the performance of her public duties, especially the speech from the throne at the opening of Parliament.

Brown is reluctant to do so, rightly fearing that Victoria will take this as a personal betrayal. When he urges her to return to London and fulfil her public duties, an argument ensues. Feeling betrayed by Brown, Victoria becomes visibly agitated. When Brown once again refers to her as "woman", she sharply rebukes him. Leaving the room, she turns to Ponsonby and her physician, Dr. Jenner, requesting that they serve her needs, visibly demoting Brown's contact and influence. Their relationship was never to be the same again. Victoria's eventual acquiescence and her decision to return to public life leads to a revitalization of her popularity and a resurgence in public support of the monarchy.

Brown continues to serve Victoria until his death in 1883. In his final years, his duties become reduced to head of security. The palace staff has become weary of Brown's dogmatic ways and they mock and rebuke his security efforts as paranoid delusions. Finally, during a public event, a gun-wielding assassin appears out of the crowd leaping toward the Royal Family. An ever-vigilant Brown successfully thwarts the assassination attempt. At dinner the next evening the Prince of Wales retells the story, bragging to their dinner companions that he had been the one to warn Brown of the assassin. Seeing through her son's bragging, Victoria announces instead that a special medal for bravery, the "Devoted Service Medal," will be minted and awarded to Brown.

Years later, Brown becomes gravely ill with pneumonia after running through the woods late at night chasing a possible intruder. Hearing of his illness, Victoria visits his room and is shaken to see her old friend so ill. She confesses that she has not been as good a friend as she might have been in recent years, and the pneumonia proves fatal for Brown. During his years of service, Brown had kept a diary and upon his passing, Ponsonby and Jenner discuss its contents stating that it must never be seen by anyone.

The film's closing notes state "John Brown's diary was never found." Jenner also reveals that the Prince of Wales hurled the Queen's favourite bust of Brown over the palace wall, referencing the film's opening sequence.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to some top notch acting, the chemistry between its stars, and a witty, thoughtful script, Mrs. Brown delivers a nuanced and entertaining, if not entirely factual, account of a seldom explored historical relationship."[3] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[4]

Roger Ebert said, "It is not about sexual love, or even romantic love, really, but about that kind of love based on challenge and fascination."[5] He called Judi Dench "wonderful"; Connolly "has the reserve and self-confidence that most stand-up comics lack almost by definition".[5]

Box office

The film opened 18 July 1997 on 6 screens (including 3 in Los Angeles and 2 in New York) and grossed $76,268 for the weekend.[6] It went on to gross $9.2 million in the United States and Canada.[7] In the UK, the film opened 5 September 1997 on 149 screens and grossed a disappointing £228,469, however, it improved and went on to gross £2,542,212 ($4 million).[8] [9]

Awards and nominations

AwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
Academy AwardsBest ActressJudi Dench[10]
Best MakeupLisa Westcott, Veronica Brebner, and Beverley Binda
British Academy Film AwardsBest FilmSarah Curtis[11]
Best British Film
Best Actor in a Leading RoleBilly Connolly
Best Actress in a Leading RoleJudi Dench
Best Screenplay – OriginalJeremy Brock
Best Costume DesignDeirdre Clancy
Best Make Up/HairLisa Westcott
Best Production DesignMartin Childs
British Academy Scotland AwardsBest Feature FilmSarah Curtis, John Madden, and Jeremy Brock
Best Actor in a FilmBilly Connolly
Best Actress in a FilmJudi Dench
Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actress[12]
Chlotrudis AwardsBest Supporting ActorAntony Sher[13]
Evening Standard British Film AwardsBest ScreenplayJeremy Brock
Peter Sellers Award for ComedyAntony Sher
Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress in a Motion Picture – DramaJudi Dench[14]
Golden Reel AwardsBest Sound Editing – Foreign Feature
London Film Critics Circle AwardsBritish Actress of the YearJudi Dench
Mar del Plata International Film FestivalBest Film (International Competition)John Madden
Special Jury Award
National Society of Film Critics AwardsBest ActressJudi Dench[15]
New York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest Actress[16]
Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest Actress[17]
Best Drama Actress
Online Film Critics Society AwardsBest Actress[18]
Satellite AwardsBest Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama[19]
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – DramaBilly Connolly
Best Screenplay – OriginalJeremy Brock
Best Costume DesignDeirdre Clancy
Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleJudi Dench[20]
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting RoleBilly Connolly
SESC Film FestivalBest Foreign ActressJudi Dench
Society of Texas Film Critics AwardsBest Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actress[21]

Soundtrack

Mrs Brown
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Stephen Warbeck
Cover:Mrs Brown soundtrack.jpg
Released:1997
Genre:Soundtrack
Label:Milan
Chronology:Stephen Warbeck soundtrack
Next Title:Shakespeare in Love
Next Year:1998

See also

Films about Queen Victoria

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Mrs.' to Miramax. Variety. Monica. Roman. 28 April 1997. 23 January 2022.
  2. Web site: Festival de Cannes: Mrs Brown . 27 September 2009. festival-cannes.com.
  3. Web site: Mrs Brown (1997). Rotten Tomatoes. October 7, 2017.
  4. Web site: Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown reviews. Metacritic. October 7, 2017.
  5. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mrs-brown-1997 Ebert,, Roger. "Review:'Mrs. Brown'", July 25, 1997
  6. Variety. July 22, 1997. Auds kiss 'Guido' to the top of exclusive B.O.. September 11, 2022.
  7. Web site: Mrs Brown (1997). Box Office Mojo. 6 October 2017.
  8. Screen International. Wilde King. 27. 24 October 1997. Scott. Mary.
  9. Screen International. UK Top 100 Films Nov 29, 1996-Nov 30, 1997. 43. 23 January 1998.
  10. Web site: The 70th Academy Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners . 2011-08-28. oscars.org.
  11. Web site: BAFTA Awards: Film in 1998 . . 1998 . 16 September 2016 . .
  12. Web site: 1988-2013 Award Winner Archives . . January 2013 . August 24, 2021.
  13. Web site: 4th Annual Chlotrudis Awards . . April 23, 2022.
  14. Web site: Mrs Brown – Golden Globes . . July 5, 2021 . .
  15. Web site: Past Awards . . 19 December 2009 . July 5, 2021.
  16. Web site: 1997 New York Film Critics Circle Awards . . July 5, 2021.
  17. Web site: 2nd Annual Film Awards (1997) . Online Film & Television Association . May 15, 2021.
  18. Web site: 1997 Online Film Critics Society Awards . . 3 January 2012 . April 22, 2022.
  19. Web site: 1998 Satellite Awards . . August 24, 2021.
  20. Web site: The 4th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Screen Actors Guild Awards. May 21, 2016. November 1, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111101205428/http://www.sagawards.org/awards/nominees-and-recipients/4th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards. live.
  21. Web site: 1997 SEFA Awards . sefca.net . May 15, 2021.
  22. Web site: Film review: Victoria and Abdul. Barber. Nicholas. www.bbc.com. en. 2019-12-03.