A Royal Night Out

16 May 2015 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - A Royal Night Out. On 8 May 1945 all of Britain was celebration Victory in Europe and behind the doors of Buckingham Palace two daughters were asking their parents if they might be allowed to join in. The two daughters were Princess Elizabeth, heir to the Throne and her sister Princess Margaret. This store is rumoured to be based partly on fact and I would very much like to have heard it was all true. With Rupert Everett starring as King George and Emily Watson playing his wife Queen Elizabeth this film is a rather jolly jape depicting what could have happened if the two princesses had been allowed out on the town for the whole night. Everett and Watson were uncanny as the King and Queen, and the girls bore more than a little resemblance to the Princesses ....although costume, deportment and hairstyle helped enormously. The plot was a little like I imagine that day to be, uproariously out of control but most joyful. My favourite line in the whole film was when Lilibet was asking Jack the airman to assist her to make the most of 'an opportunity to be ordinary on the most extraordinary day of her life'. I wonder if the Queen has seen this and if so, was she a little wistful.

Was not sure at first about seeing A Royal Night Out, despite having some talented people involved it did seem like it will have slightly tired concept too stretched out. Seeing it with Mum and Dad, this viewer is glad that she gave it a chance, for it is an enjoyable film once you accept that it does play loose with the truth and is almost like a 'what if?' (yes suspension of disbelief is needed here).

There is an awful lot good with A Royal Night Out. The period detail is not just evocative but it looks splendid too, the costumes are so beautifully tailored, the hair and make-up handsomely rendered and the sets and scenery so meticulous that it does feel like one is there in London just after World War II. The film is beautifully shot too. The soundtrack also captures the period brilliantly too, some great period favourites lovingly arranged and it's nicely scored too. On the most part, A Royal Night Out is very nicely scripted, with some poignant drama (like the king preparing and giving the speech) and great lightweight humour with the lion's share of the best lines coming from Margaret.

A Royal Night Out's story moves along at a good pace and is on the most part interesting and entertaining, there is great fun to be had in Margaret's oblivious association with criminals (again once you don't take things seriously and take it as meaning to be totally accurate) and throughout there is a quite believable (if occasionally a little too quaint in the middle act) sense of time and place. It is solidly directed, and very well played by a more than game cast, headed by the very charming and sensitive Sarah Gadon and the scene-stealing Bel Powley.

Jack Reynor is dashing and sympathetic, sharing a lovely rapport with Gadon, while Rupert Everett brings a touching vulnerability that is both surprising and delightful and Emily Watson is firm but compassionate as the Queen Mother. Roger Allam is also fun to spot, but sadly with little screen time.

For all its worthwhile things, A Royal Night Out's script occasionally feels a tad patronising and some of the humour a little awkward. The story does entertain for what it is, but by the last act it does start to feel rather stretched with the pacing getting a bit draggy and the storytelling on the thin side.

Overall, however, entertaining and nicely done film if taken for what it is. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is not a documentary so don't expect it to be accurate or even the slightest bit true. It is based very loosely around Princess Elizabeth and Margaret going out into the crowds at Buckingham Palace on the night peace was declared (VE Day)....that's where the similarity stops. Rupert Everett as the King is such a bad choice, but again, it's not meant to be taken seriously. I liked the character portrayed as Princess Margaret and also the Queen Mother... they are likable and funny. The whole story is quite well written and very funny in places...as long as you don't take it too seriously and try to work out fact from fiction. All in all I thought it was very entertaining.....

On 8 May 1945, the official end of War in Europe was celebrated, and London went wild. Spontaneous parties broke out in the streets, celebrations continued long into the night, and the bars, clubs and other areas devoted to pleasure did a roaring trade.

In Buckingham Palace the young Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon), than aged nineteen, and sister Margaret (Bel Powley) yearn to join the celebrations, but their stuffed-shirt mother Elizabeth (Emily Watson) and King George VI (Rupert Everett) are particularly reluctant to allow their daughters the freedom to do so. Eventually they agree, so long as the girls are accompanied by two chaperons, Lieutenants Pryce and Burridge (Jack Laskey, Jack Gordon), from Chelsea Barracks.

There begins a wild night of partying, celebration, and chasing, as the two Princesses lose their chaperons and end up moving from place to place - from Piccadilly, to Soho, and thence to Chelsea Barracks - being exposed to aspects of London life that they have never previously experienced, including making the tea. During their one night of freedom they learn something about what ordinary people think of the Royal Family and their role in society.

Based on a true story, and with more than a nod towards classics such as William Wyler's ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953), where a princess (Audrey Hepburn) enjoys a similar night off the leash of protocol, A ROYAL NIGHT OUT tells a picaresque tale, as Princess Margaret gets blind drunk and has to be rescued by her sister, who eventually reveals her true identity when things threaten to get a little out of hand. There are some amusing moments, especially when the Princesses try to communicate with ordinary Londoners in their marked RP accents, thereby proving just how sheltered an existence they have hitherto led.

Gadon and Powley give creditable impersonations of the young princesses, although Powley's accent veers towards the Sloane Ranger rather than the upper-class gell of the Forties. Everett's George VI bears more than a passing resemblance, both vocally and facially, to the current Prince Charles, while his spouse comes across as a snob with a perpetual desire to drown her sorrows in a gin and tonic.

Director Julian Jarrold makes some important points about the ways in which Princess Elizabeth (especially) learned a lot about her people as a result of this night. What a shame, therefore, that when she acceded to the throne, she should become so remote that she failed to understand Princess Diana's extraordinary popular appeal. But that judgment is made with the benefit of hindsight. As a lighthearted piece of entertainment, A ROYAL NIGHT OUT is definitely worth looking at.

This period piece is about one magical night in the lives of Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) and Margaret (Bel Powley). It is a fantasy that really captures the imagination. The two royals surely must have been overly protected---from danger, from scandal, from their own teenage whims. But "A Royal Night Out" imagines an adventure on VE Day, when all of London was celebrating and the girls might have yearned to be common enough to join in.

The era is certainly captured by costumes, manners and scenery, allowing the viewer to indulge freely in the illusion. The two young women are delightful. And the general tone of the scenes carries the emotions along, feeling exactly like the overwhelming release that came with victory after years of sacrifice, fear, and stiff upper lips. The scene when the king appears at Buckingham Palace is stirring.

Recommended for history buffs, fans of period pieces and those who might find romance in a childish fantasy that--though it is only about one night--is also a coming of age story. I saw this film before its general release with no knowledge of its subject, and I was pleasantly surprised.