"Queen" doesn't crackle
Helen Mirren's performance as Queen Elizabeth II "has turned The Queen into something you never imagined it could be: a crackling dramatic story that's intelligent, thoughtful and moving." -- from Kenneth Turan's review in the L.A. Times. Stephen Frears' just-opened film is intelligent, thoughtful and...well, somewhat moving. But "crackling" it absolutely is not. We all know what crackling is -- something like fire, a plot with close-to-breathtaking dips and turns, next door to crackerjack. Due respect to Turan --he's a gifted and careful writer -- but he should have chosen more carefully.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 6, 2006 at 12:48 PM
comment #1
Ian Sinclair
says ...
Ken Turan is simply expressing his enthusiasm for the best-reviewed picture of the year. And his use of the word is perfectly correct.
Crackling: to exhibit liveliness, vibrancy, anticipation, etc.: The play crackled with wit.
–verb (used with object)
This knocking of THE QUEEN and Mirren is getting really boring. Put another record on your turntable. This one is cracked.
Posted by Ian Sinclair
at October 6, 2006 2:11 PM
comment #2
Craig Kennedy
says ...
I haven't seen The Queen yet and I try not to read reviews until after I see a movie, but something can crackle without plot twists or car chases. And it's not next door to crackerjack, it's not even in the same neighborhood. Crackerjack is excellent, top shelf. To me, crackle implies a certain kinetic energy.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at October 6, 2006 2:27 PM
comment #3
Hallick
says ...
"I haven't seen The Queen yet and I try not to read reviews until after I see a movie, but something can crackle without plot twists or car chases."
Something like Glengarry Glen Ross: no chases, no 'splosions, no squib fountains, just characters and dialogue going like a whirlwind of flint.
I haven't seen The Queen yet either, but I'd be startled to find it crackling since most every other review points out how much of the drama (and her performance) is in the tiny nuances and undercurrents, which doesn't make it worse than "crackling", just different.
Posted by Hallick
at October 6, 2006 7:48 PM
comment #4
EDouglas
says ...
It annoys me to no end that people are neglecting the rest of the cast of this great film to praise Mirren to no end. Yes, she gives a great performance but so do Michael Sheen, James Cromwell and others, and to me, it's just laziness to say the same thing that has already been said to death.
Posted by EDouglas
at October 6, 2006 8:33 PM