Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

When I heard that Elizabeth was going to be released, I was rather excited. Then I saw some of the stills and the movie poster and really took notice. The bad part was that this went head to head with Shakespeare in Love, which while it was a good film, Gwyneth Paltrow did not quite have the reach or depth of Blanchett in this one.

Chronicling the time from just before her sister Mary Tudor dies, to the end of her relationship with Robert Dudley, this is a metaphorical account of the early reign of Elizabeth I. Played by Cate Blanchett in this, she is easily a fascinating character in history, and still raises questions today.

For Elizabeth was never really expected to inherit the throne. She had a younger brother, Edward VI, and an older sister, Mary I, both of whom it was thought would marry and produce children. But Edward VI died young, before he was able to wed, and Mary, despite her marriage to Philip II of Spain, was never able to bear a child.

This is where the film opens, Elizabeth under her sister's suspicious eye. And Elizabeth is the opposite of Mary, young, beautiful, healthy and a focal point for the Protestants in England. And Mary, who is Catholic, is busy burning Protestants, as we see in a rather graphic opening.

In fear for her life, Elizabeth walks a tightrope, in love with Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes), unsure of who to trust, and trusting only herself. We see her in the final days of her sister's reign, imprisoned, hoping to hang on just a little while more.

And then Mary dies and Elizabeth is proclaimed queen. Sounds like a fairy tale, right? Not for Elizabeth. She faces war with Scotland to the north, revolt from her catholic noblemen and bishops and quite a few marriage offers. We see her evade threats to her life, the hatred of some of her subjects, the love of others. Her troubles are just starting... and in a time when women were not expected to rule or lead a country, she transformed the world.

The good points: the costuming (most of it), the casting of Geoffrey Rush as the spymaster Walsingham, Blanchett and Fiennes, Christopher Eccleson as the Duke of Norfolk, and David Attenborough as William Cecil, Elizabeth's cheif consular. Plenty of spectacle and imagry as we see hunting and feasting and celebration. Best of all is Blanchett showing the evolution of an untried woman who not only succeeded but won at a terrible cost to herself. Watch especially her rehersal for her speech before Parliement.

The bad points: The violence gets to be a bit much, especially the torture, execution, and other various bits of mayhem that go on. The director tends to dwell on these just a bit too long, and this is not for the squeamish. Too, he's trying to compress most of Elizabeth's reign into one film, so we get a variety of styles and effects that are decades apart (the ending image of Elizabeth in the heavy makeup and overly ornate gown is from the last decade or so of her reign). This film is more metaphor than anything else -- Elizabeth's reign in actuality looked nothing like this except for the costumes, and some of the outdoor shots.

Despite being history, this film is not for children of any age. There is sex, nudity, quite a bit of violence what with the executions, and some battle scenes. An orgy hosted by a cross-dressing French Duke. Some pretty vile language. Hints of homosexuality.

If you can handle that, it's pretty good, and Blanchett certainly deserved the Golden Globe she won as Best Actress and the Oscar nomination that she recieved.




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age