Ransom

The concept of the journey allows the characters to experience a range of settings, many of which are places that have been previously unseen and unimaginable. The humble carter Somax has never been inside the palace walls before and in the same way, despite Priam visiting ‘the lands he represents’ (Part 2), his journey across the plains to the Greek encampment is rough and unrelenting. The majestic description of the coveted city of Troy with its ‘houses of whitewashed mud-brick and stone…under awnings of woven rush, potted shrubs [that] spread their heavy night odours’ (Part 2) is later juxtaposed with the ‘utter devastation’ (Part 3) that has become of the landscape from nearly a decade of war. Malouf allows readers to share in Priam’s despair as he sees the ‘windless sky’ (Part 3) that he has never believed would be a side effect of war.

In his efforts to humanise the characters frozen by mythology, Malouf slows the narrative down at times to concentrate on sharing moments of grief with the main characters. Achilles’ decision to break the pattern of violence and have the body of Hector bathed before returning it to Priam takes place in the confines of the laundry tent, a cloistered space that is ‘low-ceilinged’ and has ‘thick[ened] [the] air’ (Part 4). His presence in this room reminds him of his infancy, with its ‘damp sweet laundry smell, that he half-recalls and recognises’ (Part 4), a place in which he feels oddly comforted by a nameless presence.

Likewise, the intimacy that is shared by the elderly King and his wife Hecuba after the death of their son Hector takes place in the confines of their royal bedchamber; they sit in close proximity to one another and share a moment of grief. Readers are privy to this precious moment as ‘they sit a moment, holding one another like children… the lamp flickers’ (Part 2) symbolising the intimate nature of the moment that we have been a party to, one that is not granted to us by any other version of this legendary story.

The Queen

The entire film takes place in the United Kingdom, bar a few scenes in Paris including the initial car accident and Charles’ visiting the British Embassy in France to retrieve Diana’s body. The royal family are seen at Balmoral Castle, situated in the highlands of Aberdeenshire in Scotland, which is precisely the main problem of the film; that they are absent from Buckingham Palace with their people during such a difficult time. Balmoral Castle is one of two private residences of the royal family; that is to say, it is not part of the Crown Estate and is completely self-sufficient. The working estate covers an area of approximately 50,000 acres and is home to forests and farmland, managed herds of deer, Highland cattle and ponies. The Queen’s passion for Balmoral is evident in the first scene when she mentions to the Blairs that ‘My great, great grandmother said of it, “In Balmoral all seems to breathe freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.”’ No doubt, this concept resonates with Elizabeth and Balmoral continues to be her refuge from the world without.

Craiggowan Lodge is an auxiliary building used by friends and family of the royal family and is where Robin Janvrin resides while the family are in residence at Balmoral (we see him take a phone call in this residence and make his way across the moors to alert the Queen to the death of Diana). It is one of seven holiday homes on the property that are let to subsidise an income.

The River Dee winds its way through the highland estate and the Queen gets her army truck stuck on the bed of it during a torrent. This scene is one of many that enable audiences to see the vast property and its wild beauty, no doubt an attractive option to the royal family at which to spend their time as opposed to the bustling city proper.

Every British Prime Minister must officially reside in 10 Downing Street, London with the offices of the Prime Minister rumoured to be located directly next door. However, the script makes mention that Tony Blair and his wife Cherie take residence in a constituency house in Trimdon, near Durham, in Northern England.

Frears often shows cuts straight from the offices of the Prime Minister to his private home, choosing to show Blair conducting business from his bedroom, kitchen, and lounge room that are littered with dirty laundry and toys to indicate the penetrative nature of politics and the inability to keep business and family separate whilst holding such a lofty role.