Queen (2014)
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Queen Movie Review
Queen is a 2014 Indian dramedy film directed by Vikas Bahl and starring Kangana Ranaut. It’s such a fun, empowering movie.
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“I thought that robber such a lesson,
that he’ll think twice before messing with any Delhi girl“
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It follows a Punjabi girl who, after her fiancé calls of their wedding, embarks on their planned honeymoon to Europe on her own. There, she changes her outlook on life, she becomes empowered and she makes some terrific friendships. This plot isn’t the most original, but the film executes it so well that I found it excellent, in particular for how wonderfully feminist it is without ever being too aggressive in that regard.
I loved the ending so much. It was a great build-up for disappointment, but thankfully she broke up with Vijay, and the movie thus felt fresh and realistic and important in its message for the significance of self-respect. Yes, Rani is an absolutely wonderful protagonist. She’s the heart and soul of the movie, and following her getting adjusted to European lifestyles was very funny, but also quite meaningful. She’s a great representation for anyone who ever felt timid or not worthy enough.
My biggest praise has to go toward Kangana Ranaut. Her performance here is magnificent. It’s a powerhouse turn where her facial expressions, her ability to portray emotion, and her confidence in portraying the character’s genuinely smooth growth are all quite admirable. I would really like to see more of her in the future as I was quite impressed with her work here.
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Her trio of male friends was a lot of fun, though Taka himself felt like a Japanese stereotype – overloud and wide-eyed, but clearly quite endearing. Tim is the weakest link as he is very underdeveloped, but Oleksander is the best of the three. His development is the strongest, he felt very realistic and his relationship with Rani is wonderful. I appreciated that her relationship with the three was strictly non-romantic, and I also respected the global appeal of this movie in terms of its characters as it portrays Indians, French people, the Japanese and Russians.
Queen is also a hilarious film at times. I found the family’s reactions to her first hot friend and how short her clothes were incredibly funny, and the repeated joke later on was also amusing. The protagonist’s innocent reactions to her different surroundings were amusing without ever feeling over-the-top. The humor is typically Indian and I loved it.
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What I did not love, however, was the pacing. It is undeniably horrible. The entire movie is overlong and many of its scenes are simply pointless. They serve their purpose, but only to further hammer its points and message down audience’s throats. I got that she needed to emancipate, I did not need for them to repeat it throughout. Especially the sexually promiscuous characters and those nightlife scenes felt out of place, overly unsubtle, and simply those were the weakest, dullest parts of the second act that dragged. Otherwise, the film is very good, I just wish it were less repetitive and shorter in length.
Though very repetitive and unnecessarily prolonged in its second act, Queen is otherwise a very good, empowering film that features excellent humor, a plethora of endearing, lovable characters, and a particularly superb protagonist, phenomenally performed by fantastic Kangana Ranaut.
