The Young Victoria is made by the same people who did Bright Star and you can see that they really have a wonderful eye. They're sort of the Merchant Ivory of this generation inheriting the upscale mantle from Masterpiece Theater in terms of how to make history beautiful. The costumes are fantastic and Queen Victoria is played by Emily Blunt from the Devil Wears Prada and Albert is played by Rupert Friend. Miranda Richardson plays her rather unsympathetic mom and Paul Bettany plays the rival for her attention and Jim Broadbent plays King George. This is a really historical drama at its very best. It's entertaining, it's fun, it's enlightening, makes you understand a little bit more about politics. But as they say, if you're going to play the game, you better figure out how to beat everybody else at it. Four stars.

Joy Meter: 4