Mrs. Brown

Mrs. Brown is a historical drama based on real events. In the early 1860s, England's Queen Victoria is paralysed by grief after the death of her Prince Consort. Because her husband thought highly of the Scottish servant John Brown, the Queen sends for Brown, who arrives on the Isle of Wight from Balmoral Castle. Through his stubbornness, straightforward manner and selflessness, John Brown manages to soften the Queen's grief. Gradually he becomes her only real confidant, with the result that the people begin to grumble and the republican politicians scent an opportunity. Mrs. Brown is what Victoria comes to be called in popular parlance. Brown realises that for the Queen's own good she must return to her official duties, and he must step into the background to avoid a critical situation developing.

Mrs. Brown portrays, tenderly and movingly, an unusual friendship that might have turned into love had the times been different. The film is easy to pigeonhole as a typical heritage film, but on the other hand it is more than a little topical, for then as now the monarchy is going through its worst crisis in many years.