ANY film project on the subject of Diana's death and the reaction of the Royal Family could have been, to be frank, a total disaster.

But thanks to a secure and stunning performance by Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by a top-drawer British cast - plus American actor James Cromwell (the farmer from Babe) as Prince Philip - it's one of the most satisfying films of this year.

And, double phew, it's not a film which chooses to lampoon anyone or attack the monarchy, only really showing the negative side of arch manipulator Alastair Campbell and a little bit of the disrespect which Cherie Blair is reputed to have demonstrated when meeting Her Majesty.

Director Stephen Frears begins with the landslide Labour election victory in May 1997, and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen, who played the PM in The Deal) is on his way to meet the Queen for the first time.

We're then swiftly reminded of the summer of that year, when the news was full of Diana and her holiday with Dodi Fayed.

We see the actual pictures of the couple on board his yacht, before the scene on the fateful August evening as they left the Ritz is recreated, and the Mercedes enters the tunnel, pursued by paparazzi.

The rest of the film then deals with the aftermath, how the Royals had to adapt protocol and make allowances for the demands of the near-hysterical public - something they'd never had to do previously.

Much of The Queen is based on the transcripts of the actual phone calls and correspondence which took place after Diana died, and this adds a necessary ring of truth to the depicted proceedings.

Film focus Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell
Director: Stephen Frears
Running time: 97min
To sum up: Emotive
Our verdict: Watch it
If you want to know more:

www.thequeenmovie. co.uk

This verisimilitude is aided by wonderful costume design and the choice of locations, which wholly transport audiences to this world and never gives them the opportunity to think, "well, that's not what I'd imagine Balmoral looks like".

What's so affecting about this film is how it gently teases out a reassessment of our monarch, the woman who became Queen at just 25 years of age, having watched her own father die because of the strain of the role.

As she points out to Tony Blair, he is her 10th prime minister, number one having been Winston Churchill, and the human being behind the pomp and privilege begins to appear.

Her reticence and the Royals' perceived lack of emotion at the death of Diana are explained as the natural reactions of people from a certain generation who were brought up in extraordinary circumstances and who want to protect their two bereaved (grand) sons.

Mirren's monarch emphasises that her grief is a private matter, expressing that, in order to properly assume the role of figurehead, it must be "duty first, self second".

After all, it's understandable that a woman who has lived through major wars and the unnecessary death of millions would want to resist turning Diana's funeral into, as she expresses it, a "fairground attraction".