Ok, ok, I know it's been a while, first a review...

Yesterday I needed to get some shit done before the "blizzard of 2010" (aka 3" of snow) hit Knoxville. In addition to laundry, Indian food with Kendra and Beka, and the grocery store I went to see the Young Victoria with Kendra. This movie was going through a little bit of an identity crisis the entire time but, oddly enough, that fits the subject matter. Director Jean-Marc Vallée strangely married conventional historical drama with more modern, invasive editing. Though these moments, at times, felt incredibly forced and unnecessary, the scene in which they are introduced (the scene in William IV's dining hall) was beautifully done. I am really not a romance movie person but the love between Victoria (Emily Blunt) and Albert (Rupert Friend) was believable and touching. All in all, however, this film attempted to do too much at once. The story of the struggles of Queen Elizabeth I has taken two movies thus far and simply explaining the more recent portions of Elizabeth II took an entire film. Reducing the lives of such influential monarchs must be done carefully and with attention to all protagonists and antagonists. The story wraps up before you are ready to say goodbye and the complications are never fully explained or developed. If I didn't have what basic knowledge of the reign of Queen Victoria that I have I would have been very lost and I, admittedly, confused the time line thoroughly at moments. Overall this is a very beautiful movie with a good love story; however, I wouldn't recommend seeing it without giving yourself a good lesson about the beginning of Victoria's reign. If you can deal with not knowing the deeper stories behind the historic figures and an just watch it for the romance I highly recommend it.