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Judi Dench earned an Oscar nod for her spot-on portrayal of the troubled Queen Victoria (two years before winning an Oscar for repeat royal performances as Queen Elizabeth in two 1999 films). In the 1860s, Victoria was inconsolable after the death of her beloved husband, so she sends for hubby's favorite horsemaster, Mr. Brown (Connolly). Brown succeeds in bringing her out of her coccoon of misery, but not without drawing the attention of a nosy press and nearly toppling the monarchy in the process. The socio-political side of Mrs. Brown is not so well-realized as the emotional side of the relationship between Brown and Victoria, a gut-wrenching analysis of station and the politics of the heart.
