Mrs. Brown

Jeremy Brock's intriguing period piece chronicles the reign of Queen Victoria following the death of her husband, Prince Albert. As the mourning monarch, Judi Dench projects an embittered presence searching for sincerity in the wake of her loss. Comfort comes in the form of John Brown (Billy Connolly), a fiery Highlander called into the queen's service, where he quickly ascends to the post of her personal servant and most influential confidant. His Rasputin-like irreverence and disdain for court protocol coupled with Her Majesty's prolonged absence from duty and rumors of an affair between them all generate such a political backlash that Parliament ponders the disestablishment of the British monarchy.

If the premise sounds familiar, it's only a gender toggle and a few decades removed from The Madness of King George, complete with an army of power-hungry servants and vulturistic offspring. Even as the historical and emotional incongruities threaten to derail the film, the acerbic and witty prose gives Mrs. Brown a humorous dimension that, at times, makes it feel like an English response to Ridicule. The acting by Dench and Connolly is superb, and Anthony Sher drolly undercuts each scene as the politically savvy prime minister Disraeli. Opens Friday at the Avon and Jane Pickens.

-- Tom Meek