"A Royal Affair" tells the tale of a young princess of Britain, Caroline (Alicia Vikander) who is betrothed to the insane king of Denmark, Christian IV (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard). Her life is, at first, one of isolation and disappointment. Eventually, a German doctor comes into her life, Stuensee (Mads Mikkelson). The two share an interest in Enlightenment ideas and progressive world-views. They soon fall in love and a number of complications ensue as a result.
The film is quite slow-moving - there isn't a lot of action and it mostly consists of political intrigue and the various relationships. Vikander, as she was in Anna Karenina, is beautiful and enjoyable to watch on screen. Without her, the picture would have been remarkably boring and hard to sit through.
The cinematography is lush and engaging. The performances are interesting as is some of the subject matter. The Enlightenment was a time of revolutionary ideas and change and Denmark, under the leadership of King Christian and Dr. Struensee was the pinnacle country in guiding the Enlightenment ideas into fruition. We get to see first-hand how and why this happened and we are given a better understanding about what the Enlightenment actually entailed.
The period detail was fantastic and you become emotionally involved with the characters. Arcel direction is good and this is a film worth seeing.
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