The Crown Season 5 Review: The Difficult Nineties and In Particular the Annus Horribilis
Cast: Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki
Director: Peter Morgan
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The Crown Season 5 arrives on Netflix on November 9, two months and a day after the death of Queen Elizabeth who also brought the series back to the Top Ten in various countries. Between old and new fans, however, we find a new queen played by Imelda Staunton, and the whole cast is completely renewed. A completely different season not only in the cast, but also in the themes, like a Queen on the sidelines obscured by the stories we know well, and which are often associated with the royal family So let’s see some comments:
Since 2016, the year of its debut on Netflix, The Crown has been measured against history and with some of the most representative icons of the twentieth century. First of all, Elizabeth II, perhaps inaccurately, has always been considered the protagonist of the series. Lilibeth finds herself crowned Queen at the age of 25 and assumes that role that was not intended for her at birth with the demeanour and absolute fidelity to the Nation and the symbol, that Crown which represents the true heart of the award-winning series conceived and written by Peter Morgan.
The Crown Season 5 Review: The Story
Close to the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) reflects on a reign that included nine prime ministers, the advent of television for the masses and the demise of the British Empire. But new challenges are emerging on the horizon. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Hong Kong’s transfer of sovereignty signalled a radical change in the international order and presented challenges and opportunities to the Monarchy… but new problems emerge not far from home.
Prince Charles (Dominic West) pushes his mother to agree to divorce Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), setting the stage for a constitutional crisis in the Monarchy. The increasingly separated life between husband and wife feeds numerous gossip. As media scrutiny intensifies, Diana decides to take control of the situation and breaks family rules by publishing a book that threatens Carlo’s public support and exposes the differences within the House of Windsor. Tensions rise when Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw) enters the scene, driven by the desire to be accepted by the nobility, taking advantage of the wealth and power he has earned on his own to get a seat at the royal table for himself and his son. Dodi (Khalid Abdalla).
We are in the 90s, a fatal decade for the British Monarchy, under the eyes of all due to “court scandals”. Elizabeth, completely absorbed in her role, must try to manage the excesses of her children, systematically struggling with shipwrecked marriages, the relationship with Margareth, who always sees her split between affectionate elder sister and unshakable sovereign, a Philip who seems to have realized all that he lost by choosing to become the prince consort and above all her, Diana, that sad girl who will prove to be a real thorn in the side for the Crown, but perhaps Elizabeth after all, as a mother and a woman, a little ‘he understands.
As happened for the previous two seasons, also in The Crown Season 5 Peter Morgan chooses to proceed by episodes, once again changing the narrative structure of the series and choosing to dedicate each episode to a different drama and character. The impression is that as the series grows and progresses over the years he chooses to tell, its narrative plots expand, as does the range of characters he tries to tell. We are faced with a real choral story now, and now more and more, given the importance that the “secondary” actors assume in the big picture, such as Carlo, Camilla and Diana, for example. The greatness of The Crown lies in the refined writing of Peter Morgan, which consequently is reflected in the staging, the direction, on the interpretations of the actors who reveal themselves, even at this second change of guard, up to the task to which they are called.
The Crown Season 5 Review and Analysis
Season 5 of The Crown chronicles a difficult time spent by the royal family. Internal tensions are increasingly evident, the monarchy no longer has the same power over the people and is reluctant to keep up with the times while remaining anchored to a past that no longer exists. The series opens with the launch of the Royal Yacht Britannia by the Queen in 1954 and, in the 10 episodes set in the 90s, we discover that the ship has now had its day and must be put into disuse. Not too subtle a metaphor for what the monarchy was going through in those years. The fifth season plays a lot on the advent of the modern era that must replace the habits and customs of an era that is now on the way to extinction. Not only is the ship a metaphor but also the advent of satellite TV. And even more, prominence is given to the new young people of the monarchy.
Young people marrying and divorcing (much to Queen Elizabeth’s chagrin). And it is precisely one of those divorces at the centre of the plot. You all know which one we’re talking about of course. The breakup of the marriage between Princess Diana and (Ex, now King) Prince Charles. Carlo is one of the promoters of the new Great Britain, he dreams of the “Monarchy of well-being” and a more modern contact with the country than him. He wants to break away from the old ways to embrace the new world. On the other hand, Diana fights to make her side of the story known even if this will ultimately prove disastrous for everyone, even for her. Even if Debicki’s version is almost always filmed in tears or on the verge of them or at war with someone and rarely happy except in some glimpse with her children.
And so The Crown Season 5, addressing (in one of the best-written episodes) the divorce of the royal couple, also offers an internal perspective on the reasons of Carlo, who has always been considered one of Diana’s torturers. This brings to fruition a speech that will culminate in the sixth season, but which had been carefully sown in the previous season. Carlo, as much as Diana, was a victim of the system into which he was born. But of course, he is less lenient towards those who managed, then, to achieve happiness and did not have time to become a tragic hero.
The Crown Season 5 changes the structure of the story and the episodes again. Each episode draws a circle that seems to bring us back to the starting point but which in reality follows a precise and broad path and that makes events proceed inexorably. The season itself begins and ends “on a ship”, in a world apart that would like to isolate the protagonists and remove them from their difficulties but which then, punctually, leaves them in port, on dry land to deal with themselves and with that Crown to which everyone must, in the end, give an account.
Peter Morgan tries to trace humanity and drama into a facade of perfection and impenetrability. Perhaps for this reason, although Debicki is the character most similar to the real referent, he is also the least interesting one. Diana has told herself intimately to the world, so we also know very well what to expect from her character. For Elisabetta, Carlo, Filippo and all the others, we are almost faced with a blank sheet, which the screenwriter and interpreters have to fill. And this process is fascinating.
What remains of The Crown Season 5 is a sense of looming tragedy, which is conveyed to the viewer with tons of little tricks and details hidden in plain sight. The very account of the rise of Moneim Fayed and his son Dodi is, perhaps unintentionally, an ominous omen. But even in this case, an omen is staged with infinite style. The Crown Season 5 confirms itself as a product of great class, which hides the secret of its strength in writing, writing brought to you with the highest levels of balance and effectiveness by a Peter Morgan in a state of grace, who had never done so well even in the course of the same series.
And while it is true that the pace cannot stay high forever and that there is nothing perfect, it is also necessary to admit that if all products lose value like The Crown, we should consider ourselves lucky. Of course, maybe someone was expecting blood: we wanted to discover the altars behind Diana’s death, we wanted more secrets, more twists. But the Peter Morgan series is something else. The British show is drama and pitfalls, treacherous and sharp as only a dysfunctional family can be. We look at the skein that does not unwind, but she rewinds herself, aware of the knots she is creating, but too tangled to be able to untangle.
We see it twist and give the worst of itself and it forces us to observe – helpless, judgmental and morbidly curious spectators – the decline of an ideal. What if there are no twists and turns and if the shots to Elizabeth and her inheritance of her (physical and otherwise) are less explicit than what many expected, we would like to say: The Crown has never really acted uncovered or maybe he always let himself be understood, sly and mocking? For 5 seasons we had a very specific figure in front of us: the one who should have been mother, daughter, sister and wife, has disappeared into the Crown. That advice (an omen) that was given to her at the beginning of her life as a monarch, Elizabeth followed the rule. She is no longer a human being; she is a symbol. But symbols have no empathy.
Her symbols do not regret having forced her sister into an unhappy life by taking away the great love of her life; symbols do not blame themselves for raising failed children who are unable to love; symbols are not frightened by the idea of being the epicentre of a system that cracks the minds, that destroys the individual, that causes pain. And perhaps, now that we have almost reached the end (the sixth season will be the last) we have clearer than ever what the point of a product like The Crown is: when you are born into a system that – by birthright forces you to above all others, how is it possible that you don’t feel like God? Empathy is a virtue of mere mortals. Love (disinterested and total) is a weakness that leads to perdition. The Gods do not even see the raised heads of the faithful who observe them in adoration. The Gods don’t have to earn anything: the Gods own the whole Earth.
The Crown Season 5 Review: The Last Words
In general, this version of the family in The Crown Season 5 went a little further and left out some aspects. While showing, perhaps for the first time, a weaker family than many expected, especially considering that it came out practically immediately after (obviously unwanted) the death of Queen Elizabeth. The Crown Season 5 confirms itself as a product of great class, which hides the secret of its strength in writing, writing brought to you with the highest levels of balance and effectiveness by a Peter Morgan in a state of grace, who had never done so well even during the same series.
