"It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do."
Hello everyone!
Just like the book which it adapted, this movie covers the perfect story, in my personal opinion.
Why?
Well, because the world has seen a thousand iterations of ‘princess meets first son’ or ‘first daughter meets prince’, and we usually love them because we care about the stories BEHIND the amalgamation of whoever it is that’s falling in love.
Here, however, we get the prince meets the first son, and for some reason, because it’s a gay romance, it becomes even better.
In my opinion, at least.
Red, White & Royal Blue, everyone.
I covered the book on this blog when it released, a long time ago it feels like now, so you can find the link to that at the bottom of the page.
Our movie begins with the wedding of the crown prince (not our prince, natch), to which the first son gets sent so he can represent America and, you know, be seen. Alex Clairmont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) is one of those people who instantly captivates everyone simply by appearing, which is saying something.
And then there’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), the so-called spare, who doesn’t give him the time of day, which five minutes into the movie leads to them squabbling and getting covered in wedding cake after the huge monstrosity topples over them.
This, of course, leads to outrage, the POTUS (Uma Thurman, brilliant casting IMO) tells her son she gave him specific instructions, and now he has to fix things, which is why he’s being sent BACK to the UK so the press can be convinced that he and Henry have actually been best buddies for years.
Naturally things don’t exactly go swimmingly, but it isn’t until Alex’s New Year party that they go in any different sort of way, because after midnight, Henry kisses him, then disappears.
This leads to Alex kinda sorta discovering things for himself, but also wondering why Henry’s now ghosted him. Things finally come to a, er, head, during a dinner with the Prime Minister, at which point Alex kisses Henry, and the two finally hook up.
What follows next is a montage of them getting together any chance they can, flying all over the place, starting with a polo match (and yes, Alex, we usually all drool over the prince playing polo, only in our case it would be Prince William, obviously), and peaking in Paris where the two lovers have a little heart-to-heart in which Henry explains he can’t be seen with a man because of the Institution and how that might be perceived.
It's also where the two make actual love for the first time, and I have to say it out loud for the people in the back: this was masterfully filmed.
Instead of focusing on the bump and grind it brings into focus the casual touches, the kisses, the hand-holding and other romantic gestures apart from the actual act, making it quite artistic and – to me – very visually appealing. Just like Henry says, it’s not about sex as it is about actually making love, really.
Then Alex hits the road campaigning for his mother’s re-election in Texas, and the two lovers correspond via email which I think is acutely adorable, until Henry just casually pops up at the hotel the first family is staying at, and of course this leads to some form of discovery, but it’s not as bad as you think.
Zahra (Sarah Shahi) is Alex’s mom’s right hand woman and basically the person who gets shit done. I love her. She starts hyperventilating seeing just WHAT fiasco she might be dealing with in the press if this goes live, then she makes sure both the guys know she’ll literally eviscerate them and have their balls for breakfast before stomping off. She’s my kind of lady and I wish we got to see more of her!
Anyway, Alex has a heart-to-heart with his mom about Henry, which is sweet, and also hysterical when the POTUS then switches to safe sex talk, and I cackle my way out of my chair.
Alex’s dad has Alex invite Henry along to Texas for a little R&R, at which point things get a little bit dicey, because Alex is talking about next year and long-term and whatnot, but you can clearly see just how terrified this makes Henry, who can’t fathom committing to someone like that because of a variety of reasons.
So, he hightails it out of there, hopping on a plane back to the UK, but obviously that’s not going to work because Alex chases right after him and they have a rather beautiful argument (I thought) in which Henry explains he can’t and won’t switch one prison for another, the life of royalty for a life of politics, which politics is what Alex is clearly passionate about and wants.
However, he also takes Alex to his favourite place – museum, natch – where they dance together between the shadows and the statues (possibly more, but we can’t say!) and Alex promises Henry he’ll be as patient with him as he needs to be, recognizing that while he’s at liberty to go full-throttle, Henry’s not really at that speed yet.
The prince gives Alex his signet ring, and Alex gives him the necklace he always wears which holds the key to the family’s original home in Austin, as tokens of their commitment.
Then you think things are fine, but they’re really not fine when Henry wakes up and his email’s been hacked, his exchanges with Alex posted to Reddit for all the world to see, and he’s basically in lockdown in his own home.
I call bull on his equerry being unable to reach the States for any communication, however. Even without what we see just a little later in the movie, he could have literally left Zahra a message and, being the workaholic she is, she would have gotten to it no matter how busy.
But anyway, Alex goes on record to talk to the press and explain what happened, again marking a clear difference between the men and also between their upbringing: Alex is clearly loved and supported if his mother is putting him in front of the cameras, but Henry is clearly being caged in and bossed around, which might speak to some degree of protective love or fear, but not to any kind of space for making his own decisions.
In the end it all comes down to Zahra (again, because badass will badass), who reveals that she and the equerry (!) have emergency phones (for shagging purposes, of course) and the two lovesick puppies can finally speak to one another.
Alex yeets over to the UK to at least be some support for Henry besides his sister Beatrice, when they’re all summoned for an audience with the King, who is played by none other than the great Stephen Fry, and I can’t think of anyone more perfect for the role.
Having heard of the man so much during the course of the movie, it’s interesting to see how much power he holds over a room he walks in and especially his grandchildren (the heir presumptive, Henry’s mother, is in Botswana somewhere on a mission to rescue elephants, apparently). His strategy is to sweep all this under a rug, but Henry clearly doesn’t want that, and more importantly … the public doesn’t.
During the meet, crowds gather in front of Buckingham Palace in clear support of the Prince of England’s Hearts, and the princess explains the gatherings are happening all across the UK, which prompts a sob fest from me, let me tell you.
Henry and Alex step out onto the world-famous balcony, and Henry joins Alex for the final tally of the re-election votes, being there for Alex as the Democrats flip Texas and his mother wins a second term in the Oval Office.
The guys then head on to Austin to the family’s old home and, well, have their happily ever after!
This movie has it all, in my opinion: a brilliant cast, and ohmygod who gave Taylor’s eyelashes the right to be that long and fluffy?! A wonderful supporting cast, a director who knows what’s what, and a solid basis in the form of the book they’re adapting.
As well as that, it relies heavily on actual emotional acting which you don’t see that much of anymore nowadays, where you can read messages conveyed to screen by the way an actor stands or makes a small change to their facial expression. Used to be, you could see the difference there in classically trained actors and actors who became actors after dropping out of school, but it’s making a comeback now, and I love it.
My personal favourite moment is when Henry answers that phone call towards the end and hears Alex’s voice on the other side: you can clearly see how terrified he is even in the confines of his own home, which breaks your heart.
All in all, Amazon Prime did a great job with this movie, and I’m sure I’ll be re-watching it many, many times to come.
10/10 recommend!
xx
*images and video not mine
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