Film review: A Royal Affair

Nikolaj Arcel’s grand historical romance packs quite an emotional punch, says David Larsen.

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30th June, 2012

Film review

Hannibal Lecter is running the country; we think the Queen is falling for him; and the king is barking mad. Shall we stage a coup, so we can go back to torturing our peasants? According to Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, the late 18th-century Danish political scene had so many of the ingredients of a grand historical romance you have to wonder why no one has filmed it before. That’s to say, it feels sensationalised and implausible. It also packs quite an emotional punch. The startling thing is that the verifiable facts are more or less as the film asserts: when 15-year-old Caroline ...

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