"The Young Victoria" may be about a queen who lived some two centuries ago, but the film displays a very modern sense of schadenfreude. Whether it's Britney or Michael, Tiger or Amy, the only thing we love more than ogling the celebrity lifestyle is evidence that they are more messed-up and dysfunctional than the rest of us.
Britain's prim imperial queen — best known for giving the world "Victorianism" with its prudish and puritan values — hardly seems a candidate for scandal. Yet the film reimagines her as a ripe young teen, waiting for a dashing young man to sweep her off her feet and rescue her from her hellish home life.
Talk about dysfunction: the young Victoria was dominated by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her scheming lover Sir John Conroy, who hoped to rule as regents by forcing the girl into signing over her rights as monarch. Victoria's life was controlled so tightly that she had to spend every night in the same bedroom as her mother, had no contact with other children, and was not allowed to climb the palace stairs without someone holding her hand. Meanwhile, her uncle, the king of Belgium, was plotting to get her married off to his son, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, in order to secure Britain's military backing.