Helen Mirren Filmography
The Long Good Friday
Role: Victoria
Director John MacKenzie and cameraman Phil Meheux fashion surroundings full of gritty imagery, while screenwriter Barrie Keefe provides realistic dialogue. These three elements along with a powerful score by Francis Monkman create a framework on which two fine performances are built.
Bob Hoskins, in his breakthrough role, is at the center of The Long Good Friday. His portrait of Shand's crumbling facade and impotence in the face of unknown forces is mesmerizing - a compelling performance which was strangely overlooked for an Academy Award nomination.
Helen Mirren co-stars as Harold's classy mistress, Victoria, who is sensual but tough and able to control Shand where all others fail. Victoria is a calming influence that gives the gangster class and polish. Her devotion to Harold only makes her final soundless screams more chilling.
This role is considered somewhat a hallmark of Mirren's film career, a point at which she began to be taken as seriously on film as on stage. Though it is really Hoskins' film, The Long Good Friday is a definite must for Mirren devotees.
