Elizabeth

It's painful to watch this movie, because the overpowering beauty of the locations, the cinematography, and the cast (mainly Cate Blanchett) is used in the service of an almost unbelievably shallow, smug, and cynical reading of English history.

Other reviewers have already done a superb job of pointing out the factual inaccuracies of the film's portrayal of Elizabeth and her advisors. What I'd like to comment on is the overriding theme. This is not a feminist movie. This is a pseudo-feminist movie. In order to make Elizabeth strong, the men have to be presented as weak, duplicitous, or stupid -- or sometimes all three at once! Cynically, the film makers seem to assume that the only way to make Elizabeth look strong is to surround her with weak, morally repellent men. Or perhaps they think that the mere presence of a strong woman automatically emasculates men.

In actual fact, of course, the remarkable thing about Elizabeth's reign is that she brought out the best in the men who served her. She was in fact an inspiring figure. None of this comes through in the movie. Weak men fail her, and strong men are simply destroyed by her. Whose fantasy is this, anyway?

Related to this is the problem of patriotism. Elizabeth's ruthlessness and determination are presented cynically in the film as a matter of strict self-preservation. In actual fact, Elizabeth was beloved by her people precisely because she loved England much more than her own security or safety. Moreover, her ability to take risks and defy France and Spain stemmed from her intuitive knowledge of the strength of the English people. She trusted them, and they trusted her. None of that comes across here. To put it another way, Elizabeth in real life was a master politician who enjoyed interacting with her subjects and was always able to communicate with them. But in this movie there is not one single crowd scene, not one single time when Elizabeth seems interested in, let alone guided by, the hopes and fears of the English common people.

This movie assumes that to a modern audience, "patriotism" is a dirty word. As a result it entirely misses the point of Elizabeth's life, and fails to understand either her motivations or the underpinnings of her success. Cynicism without insight, spectacle without grandeur, passion without emotion . . . this is the most shallow masterpiece ever made.

Cate Blanchett deserved better, and so did Elizabeth.

This is a complex topic to try and do in a film and it shows.

We are taken through all the main points of Elizabeth's rise to power but there simply isn't enough time to explain the character's actions, particularly those that oppose her, and this leaves certain scenes seeming pointless even though they probably had huge significance, the biggest instance of this is when she wins a vote and we aren't really told why we should care.

The performances are good, Blanchett is superb, but few characters are given a chance to perform. Eccleston is particularly wasted as her main opponent, the Duke of Norfolk, he delivers some menace while on screen but has so few lines it is hard to know, or care, what his motivation really is.

I suppose the slight writing for the other characters can be forgiven to some extent since the film is about Elizabeth and focuses on her love life and it's impact on politics and vice versa but as Queen her actions were driven by the powerful people around her and by not giving them a voice the film seems pointless and shallow.

It is supposed to be an historical film and the lack of detail leaves you confused as to the significance of events and people and that in turns leaves you feeling a little cheated, it's as if there is a great film there somewhere but you aren't being shown it. As a TV series it could have been great as a film it's just watchable.

In a year overwhelmed with reminiscent films, Elizabeth rises above the rest to become one of few stunning manifestations of the Hollywood Renaissance. Certainly acknowledged by the Oscars garnering 7 nominations, Shekhar Kapur's intimate portrait of a young Elizabeth further expands the modern view on a distant monarch, whose maturing reign as well as taming nature continued to dazzle the 20th century viewers.

Presented here by a superb cast led by Golden-Globe winner Cate Blanchett, early Elizabethean era turmoil and upheaval are captured brilliantly. The lush set itself is a feast for the eye as the audience is drawn to follow a passionate young Elizabeth's path. Against the dark setting of medieval stone castles, a blooming Golden Age approaches as England expands to take control in a world of great unrest after Catholic Queen Mary's death. Her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth daughter of Anne Bolyne is placed on a throne of a kingdom torn between religion. Cate Blanchett does a fabulous job capturing the details of a frustrated young woman waking to the merciless reality of queenhood--surrounded by enemies such as Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston). Constantly by her side is her reverent adviser Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) who advises Elizabeth to marry for convenience choosing from a "pool" of ready political candidates--while Elizabeth herself is long set on her lover from the past Sir Robert Dudley (a charming Joseph Fiennes). Yet just as England learns to wake up from the medieval dream, Elizabeth learns the bitterness of betrayal as she looks to Sir Francis Walsingham (Jeffrey Rush)'s counsel.

Focusing on Elizabeth's subtle changes of phase from fire to ice at a distant in the midst of a grander panorama beautifully shot, the audience gradually distinguishes her footsteps from the shedding of innocence to a tough ruler that dares to strike first against her enemies, to ultimately become the Virgin Queen to reign above all men.

And Elizabeth did whisper Robert Dudley's name on her deathbed… The movie is an imaginative interpretation of the way that things could have been…

Shekhar Kapur's film explores the instabilities of her reign, and the absolute horror and terror that surrounded the early part of her royal office without neglecting her relationship with her terminally ill sister… So it's a glimpse of her girlhood into statehood, and the shedding that occurs, with the people who expended in her life along the way…

The film shows Elizabeth growing up in an incredibly unstable, tumultuous environment… But she's an absolute survivor... Someone who has got no solid ground on which she walks… So one minute she's a bastard, the next minute she's a princess, then one moment she's an illegitimate daughter, then she's a queen… And it's a very relevant period of her life, because she was 25 when she became a female monarch…

There are four men in Elizabeth's life and all have quite different influences on what it means for a young woman to run the country so young, given that she comes to the throne under very difficult political circumstances…

There's Sir Cecil (Attenborough) who's from an older regime giving her the traditions and the conventions that are the most orthodox; Sir Francis (Geoffrey Rush) Elizabeth's great spy master, very astute, almost puritanical and rather dry bureaucrat; Robert Dudley (Fiennes) with whom the film suggests that she has quite a passionate, private relationship; and Norfolk (Eccleston), a major rival who doesn't regard that she is suitable to rule his England…

The motion picture succeeds in developing Elizabeth's change and, basically, locks off parts of herself, and dehumanizes herself in order to wield her power among men

To devalue a tale of this magnitude with the Cantona cuckoo beggars belief, might as well have had Vinnie Jones playing Norfolk! I'm unconvinced of Vincent Cassel's legitimacy in this as well.

That aside, there's only one character and one actor of note to be found here and that is the magnificent Cate Blanchett who plays several divisions or leagues above even the most accomplished thespians in support. A woman born to play the role if ever there was one. She allows us to forgive some of the historical anomalies and interactions, in return we consume a performance that convinces us, albeit for only a couple of hours, that we are in the company of majesty!