Hyde Park on the Hudson (2012)

Much like the movie 'Lincoln', this film focuses on a small and particular period of time in FDR's presidency, the visit of King George V and his wife, Queen Elizabeth.  It is the first time that a British king has visited England's former colony, and they are on a mission to get America's support in what is presumed to be a was with Hitler's Germany.  They are not well loved in American, nor do they really understand American sentiments.  So not a particularly happy occasion for them.

FDR, played by Bill Murray with an air of confidence and charm, is not the king of his castle.  His life is not his own.  He is clearly completely bullied by the women in his life, and his revenge is that he belongs to none of them.  He is catting about, and while it is done with an air of discretion, everyone knows it.  There is much that is left unsaid--the press doesn't say that he is in a wheelchair, his wife is clearly not in love with him, but she doesn't make a scene about that.  Instead she makes a scene about other things--like taking the Queen down a notch or two.  Into this mix he brings Daisy (Laura Linney), his distant cousin.  He carries on a physical and an intellectual relationship with him, and she is rather quickly whisked into the sunshine of his charm--only to discover that she is not the only one. 

I adore Laura Linney, and this role allows her to show the finesse that she brings to the roles she plays.  She allows Daisy to be wooed, and hurt, and subdued into taking her place as one of many Roosevelt mistresses.  I was surprised by how the Roosevelt mansion was portrayed as a place going to wrack and ruin, that it had the aura of a faded duchess rather than a radiant queen.  The actual queen was portrayed as stuffy and difficult rather than warmly supportive (as she is played in 'The King's Speech'), and Bertie (the king) is played very sympathetically.  This is not a great movie, but it is a good one, especially if you like a bit of  historical drama portrayed on the big screen.