Vallée sees Queen Victoria as rock star
Jean-Marc Vallée, the Quebec director who is currently working on The Young Victoria, says he has shot some scenes as if the British monarch had been a rock star.
Vallée, whose 2005 coming-of-age story C.R.A.Z.Y. was set to the music of David Bowie, says he became fascinated with the personality of the young Queen Victoria.
"She wants to do it her own way — she made mistakes of course by doing so at 18 years old, but she did it her own way," Vallée told CBC cultural affairs show Q on Wednesday. "There are some scenes I shot like she was a rock and roll star."
The Young Victoria is a period drama, showing Queen Victoria's love affair with her husband Prince Albert and the turbulent first years of her reign.
"C.R.A.Z.Y. gave me the opportunity to make this film and I responded to the script," Vallée said.
"It was a beautiful script written by Julian Fellowes about family relationships, something very close to me, very close to C.R.A.Z.Y. This young character Victoria at 17 and 18 is just a rebellious young kid who tries to do good and has this rock and roll spirit."
His producer for the film is Martin Scorsese and his star is Emily Blunt. He has a budget of $35 million compared with a modest $7 million for C.R.A.Z.Y., which was a box office hit and won three Genies and three Jutra awards.
C.R.A.Z.Y. was primarily about a father-son relationship and effectively evoked the style of '70s, but The Young Victoria demanded a very different style.
Vallée said he did a lot of reading about the Victorian era and about royal traditions to get the film right.
"I think the film looks like a local film, a British film," he said. "Just like the young queen I just wanted to do good and make this film as authentic, as historic as it deserves to be."
Through his research, he became conscious of the weight of history and tradition that surrounds anyone in the monarchy.
"I think they're surrounded by so much beauty and luxury and so anal in a way with their respect and love of traditions and history.… Every single detail is important, in their costumes, in the way they walk and the way they sit, the way they eat — so I became myself a very anal director to this film and I think it makes a difference," Vallée said.
"There's a great line in the film that says that 'in the presence of monarchy everything has to be perfect.'"
Now 45, Vallée said he welcomed the chance to make such a film, and that The Young Victoria has been "the best experience of my life so far creatively."
At the same time he's aware that it may seem strange to some that a Quebec director would make a British period drama.
"I have a little bit of apprehension — I'll see how how my friends in the Quebec industry will react to this, but at the same time I'm such an apolitical guy and I didn't make this film for personal political convictions or for attention."
The Young Victoria is scheduled for release in February 2009.